ILLINOIS  HISTURK-AL  iuKVcr 


HISTORY 


OF 


FORD  COUNTY  ILLINOIS 


From  Its  Earliest  Settlement  to  1908 


BY  E.   A.    GARDNER 


Illustrated  With  Portraits  and  Views 


With  Biographical  Sketches  of  some 
Prominent  Citizens  of  the  County. 


CHICAGO: 

THE  S.  J.  CLARKE  PUBI^ISHING  CO. 

1908 


v.] 


«)» 


r 


PREFACE. 

In  presenting  this  history  of  Ford  county  to  the  public  I  desire  to  return 

^      my  thanks  to  the  many  citizens  of  the  county  who  have  so  willingly  contributed 

i:?^      valuable  data  for  this  work.    I  .also  wish  to  give  due  acknowledgment  to  the  his- 

\       torical  matter  contained  in  the  Atlas  of  Ford  County  published  in  1884,  from 

^      which  a  large  portion  of  the  pioneer  facts  has  been  compiled.      Due  acknowledg- 

^       ment  is  also  made  for  the  valuable  pioneer  data  contained  in  "Remembrances 

of  a  Pioneer,"  by  Mrs.  Jane  Patton,  of  Button  township,  and  published  by  her 

in  1904.      Much  of  the  data  has  been  compiled  directly  from  the  files  and  records 

of  the  county  clerk  and  circuit  clerk's  offices. 


^  E.  A.  G. 


^ 


I 


E._  A.  GARDNE-R 


HISTORY  OF 

FORD  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS 


THE  ABORIGINES. 

It  is  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  numerous  and  well  authenticated  accounts 
of  antiquities  found  in  various  parts  of  this  county  that  a  people  civilized,  and 
considerably  cultivated,  at  least  as  compared  with  the  Indian,  occupied  this  great 
land  before  its  possession  by  the  red  man  of  later  history,  but  their  "day  and 
generation"  lie  buried  in  the  deepest  obscurity. 

Nature,  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  in  1492, 
had  asserted  her  original  dominion  over  the  land ;  the  forests  were  in  their  full 
luxuriance — the  growth  of  many  centuries,  and  nothing  remained  to  point  out 
who  and  what  they  were  who  once  lived  and  loved,  labored  and  died  on  the 
continent  of  America. 

This  race  with  an  unwritten  history  is  known  as  the  Mound-Builders.  The 
remains  of  the  works  of  this  people  form  the  most  interesting  class  of  antiqui- 
ties discovered  in  the  United  States. 

These  mounds  consist  of  what  once  apparently  were  villages,  altars,  tem- 
ples, idols,  cemeteries,  monuments,  camps,  fortifications,  pleasure  grounds,  etc. 

Were  the  Mound-Builders  the  ancestors  of  the  Indians  or  who  were  they? 
What  were  their  customs?  Whence  came  they?  What  is  their  history?  The 
oblivion  which  has  closed  over  them  is  complete,  and  only  conjecture  can  be 
given  in  answer  to  these  questions. 

Mr.  Breckenridge,  who  examined  the  antiquities  of  the  western  country 
in  1817,  says :  ' '  The  great  number  and  extremely  large  size  of  some  of  them 
may  be  regarded  as  furnishing,  with  other  circumstances,  evidences  of  their 
antiquity.  I  have  sometimes  been  induced  to  think  that  during  the  period 
when  they  were  constructed  there  was  a  population  here  as  numerous  as  that 
which  once  animated  the  borders  of  the  Nile  or  Euphrates  or  of  Mexico.  The 
most  numerous,  as  well  as  considerable,  of  these  remains  are  found  in  precisely 
those  parts  of  the  country  where  the  traces  of  a  numerous  population  might  be 
looked  for,  namely,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missis- 


12  HISTORY  OF  FORD  COUNTY 

sippi  to  the  Illinois  river,  and  on  the  west  from  the  St.  Francis  to  the  Missouri. 
I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  cities  similar  to  those  of  ancient  Mexico,  of  several 
hundred  thousand  souls,  have  existed  in  this  country." 

To  describe  these  mound-builders  is  now  impossible.  We  onlj^  know  the 
red  men,  who  occupied  this  country  when  the  French,  English  and  Spanish 
came  to  visit  the  land  and  trade  for  peltries,  and  had  not  even  a  tradition  of 
them. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  whatever  the  uses  of  these  mounds — whether 
for  homes  for  the  living  or  burial  places  for  the  dead — these  voiceless  land- 
marks of  the  silent  past  were  built,  and  the  race  who  built  them  disappeared 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  ages  before  the  Indians  occupied  the  land,  but  their 
date  must  probably  remain  as  a  sealed  volume  of  history.  The  names  of  their 
mighty  chieftains,  their  deeds  of  valor,  their  marches  with  faithful  followers 
to  a 

"Glory  bed. 

Or  to  glorious  victory," 
have  not  been  preserved  by  the  historian  and  tradition  is  silent. 

EARLY  DISCOVERIES. 

'  In  October,  1665,  Father  Claude  Allouez  landed  on  the  southwestern  shore 
of  Lake  Superior,  at  a  place  called  by  the  Indians  Chegoimegon. 

Here  he  found  a  number  of  the  Algonquin  tribes  assembled  T>reparatory  to 
an  incursion  into  the  territory  of  the  Sioux. 

The  good  father  persuaded  them  to  abandon  their  preparations  for  war. 
He  then  erected  the  chapel  which  he  named  the  "Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
at  the  place  since  called  "Lapointe  du  Saint  Esperit, "  and  began  his  work  as 
missionary. 

To  this  spot  came  the  roving  Pottawattamies,  Sacs,  Foxes,  the  Kickapoos, 
the  Illinois  and  Miamis,  prompted  by  curiosity,  and  here  they  first  heard  the 
preaching  of  Christianity. 

In  Father  Allouez,  they  beheld  a  champion  of  human  rights,  and  to  him 
they  narrated  their  griefs  by  first  speaking  of  their  former  grandeur,  and  then 
of  their  diminished  numbers  from  hostile  visitations  from  the  Sioux  on  the 
west  and  the  Iroquois  on  the  east.  The  gentle  and  pious  Marquette  three 
years  later  took  the  place  of  Allouez. 

Just  previous  to  this  time,  hoAvever,  possession  of  the  country  was  taken 
in  the  name  of  the  French  government.  For  this  event  Allouez  and  Joliet 
summoned  the  chiefs  of  no  less  than  fourteen  tribes  and  bands  at  St.  Mary'& 


IIISTOHY   OF    FOKM)   COIXTY  l:? 

It  was  well  known  that  a  great  river  crossed  southward  through  the  coun- 
try. The  first  white  man  who  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  this  state  was  Nicholas 
Perrot,  a  Frenchman.  lie  was  sent  to  Chicago  in  the  year  1671,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  inviting  the  western  Indians  to  a  peace  convention  at  Green  Bay.  One 
object  of  this  meeting  was  to  form  a  plan  for  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  This  river  had  been  discovered  by  De  Sota  nearl}^  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years  before,  but  his  nation  left  it  without  further  explorations. 

Father  IMarquette  and  Joliet  obtained  leave  to  start  on  an  expedition  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  to  light  the  mysteries  of  this  river. 

These  two  distinguished  men  started  from  St.  Ignace,  a  small  missionary 
station  on  the  north  shore  of  the  straits  of  IMackinaw. 

Two  birch  bark  canoes,  five  men,  a  bag  of  corn  meal,  some  dried  beef  and 
a  blanket  for  each  constituted  their  outfit. 

Their  route  late  along  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  the  west  bank 
of  Green  Bay.  They  passed  through  the  waters  of  Lake  Winnebago  and 
thence  accompanied  by  Indian  guides,  continued  up  the  Fox  river  to  the  carry- 
ing place  across  to  the  Wisconsin.  Here  their  Indian  guides  refused  to  go 
farther,  and  returned  whence  they  came.  Down  this  stream  they  passed  amid 
the  silent  grandeur  of  its  forests,  and  under  the  cedar-crested  precipices  of 
solid  rock.       No  mark  of  human  life  was  apparent  along  its  shores. 

On  the  ITtli  of  June,  1673,  they  found  themselves  on  the  broad  surface 
of  the  ^Mississippi.  The  banks  were  less  precipitous  than  the  bold  headlines 
of  the  Wisconsin,  and  as  they  passed  down  the  stream,  the  country  looked 
more  promising.       Herds  of  buffalo  were  seen  grazing  on  the  open  prairies. 

Not  until  they  neared  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  did  they  discover  any 
evidence  of  human  beings.  Noticing  footprints  on  the  river's  banks  they  left 
the  canoes  in  charge  of  the  five  men.  INIarquette  and  Joliet  fearlessly  took 
the  Indian  path,  and  after  two  leagues'  travel,  came  in  sight  of  their  villages. 
The  meeting  proved  a  friendly  one.  The  Indians  were  of  the  Illinois  tribe. 
They  gave  the  missionaries  a  dinner  of  fish,  roast  bufi'alo  and  hominy.  They 
resumed  their  journey  but  did  not  meet  with  any  more  Indians  luitil  reaching 
what  is  now  the  state  of  Kentucky.  Landing  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  they  met  with  what  was  evidently  a  roving 
band  of  warriors  from  the  far  distant  borders  of  civilization  on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  They  were  armed  with  guns,  but  were  peaceably  disposed,  and  received 
the  voyagers  kindly.  The  adventurers  passed  down  the  river  till  the  mouth 
of  the  Arkansas  was  reached.  Here  again  they  met  Indians,  savage  as  nature 
could  make  them.       The  young  men  showed  a  disposition  to  take  the  lives  of 


14  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

our  little  party  of  travelers  at  once,  but  were  restrained  by  the  older  men  of 
the  tribe.  Finally  a  friendly  meeting  was  had.  From  their  new  hosts,  they 
ascertained  that  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  was  but  ten  days'  travel  distant. 
The  intense  heat  of  the  month  of  July  and  fears  of  being  picked  up  by  Spanish 
adventurers  caused  them  to  conclude  their  explorations  at  this  point.  They 
had  passed  below  where  De  Sota  had  discovered  and  crossed  the  Mississippi  in 
1541,  which  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  years  previous.  No  trace,  not 
even  a  tradition  of  De  Sota's  work  remained.  The  object  of  Marquette  and 
Joliet's  expedition  had  been  fulfilled.  They  had  discovered  the  great  river 
and  determined  whether  it  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  or  Atlantic  Ocean. 

On  the  17th  of  July  they  took  leave  of  their  doubtful  friends  and  turned 
their  canoes  up  stream.  It  is  difficult  for  any  person  not  familiar  with  the 
current  of  a  great  river  to  comprehend  the  task  before  them.  Patient  toiling 
at  the  oar  finally  brought  them  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river.  Here  they 
met  with  the  Kaskaskias,  who  offered  to  conduct  them  by  a  more  convenient 
route,  which  proved  to  be  by  the  Illinois,  the  Des  Plaines,  and  the  Chicago 
rivers. 

On  the  Illinois  river,  especially  along  the  shores  of  Peoria  lake,  were  the 
principal  villages  of  the  Illinois.  There  were  also  bands  of  the  same  tribe 
in  the  vicinity  of  Starved  Rock,  near  the  present  site  of  Utica. 

Marquette  preached  to  these  warriors,  who  manifested  a  commendable 
interest  in  what  he  had  to  say  to  them.  When  the  little  company  of  adven- 
turers passed  on  to  Chicago,  a  large  delegation  of  the  Indians  accompanied 
them,  where  they  arrived  in  September.  The  Indians  attached  much  import- 
ance to  the  little  inlet  stream  called  Chicago,  and  these  French  voyagers  were 
eager  to  see  the  river,  and  still  more  eager  to  look  upon  the  lake  whose  waters 
would  afford  a  new  route  to  their  friends  in  northern  Wisconsin. 

On  the  marshy  banks  of  the  little  stream  where  now  stands  the  city  of 
Chicago  these  two  bands  bade  each  other  adieu. 

The  Frenchmen  took  their  course  along  the  western  shore  of  the  lake  and 
soon  arrived  at  the  Mission  of  Green  Bay. 

On  the  25th  of  October,  of  the  following  year,  Marquette,  with  two  com- 
panions, Perre  and  Jasques,  and  a  band  of  Indians,  started  on  their  mission 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Illinois.  Accomplishing  his  mission  he  started 
on  his  return  to  Canada  in  the  spring  of  1675,  his  health  having  failed  because 
of  exposure  to  the  winter  storms.  Arriving  at  Sleeping  Bear  Point  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  lake,  he  had  become  too  much  prostrated  to  proceed  far- 
ther.     His  two  companions  built  a  hut  of  bark  and  did  all  they  could  to  make 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  15 

him  comfortable.  Here  he  died  and  was  buried,  a  large  wooden  cross  mark- 
ing his  resting  place. 

In  1679,  La  Salle,  a  French  explorer,  sailed  to  Green  Bay  and  from  there 
his  party  proceeded  in  canoes  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  Here  he  established  a  trading-post  with  the 
Miamis.  He  then  ascended  the  St.  Joseph,  crossed  to  the  Kankakee  and  sailed 
down  until  he  reached  an  Illinois  village. 

He  formed  an  alliance  with  the  tribe,  and  early  in  1680  began  near  tlie 
present  Peoria  a  post  which  he  called  Fort  Crevecoeur.  His  chief  object  was 
to  trade  in  furs.  Accompanying  him  were  several  priests,  and  among  them 
was  Father  Hennepin,  who,  with  two  companions,  started  to  explore  the  upper 
Mississippi,  and  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Sioux.  After  an  extended  exper- 
ience with  the  Indians,  he  was  permitted  to  return  to  Green  Bay.  La  Salle 
was  finally  assassinated  after  his  second  visit  to  Illinois,  while  exploring  the 
lower  Mississippi.  The  first  mission  in  Illinois,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was 
established  by  Marquette.  The  first  military  occupation  of  the  state  was  at 
Fort  Crevecoeur,  by  La  Salle.  There  is,  however,  no  evidence  that  a  settle- 
ment was  commenced  at  those  early  dates. 

The  first  settlement  of  which  there  is  any  authentic  account  was  commenced 
with  the  building  of  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  the  Illinois  river,  in  1682,  but  this  was 
soon  abandoned.  The  oldest  permanent  settlement,  not  only  in  Illinois,  but 
in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  is  at  Kaskaskia,  situated  six  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia  river.  This  was  settled  in  1690,  by  the  removal  of 
the  mission  from  old  Kaskaskia,  or  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  the  Illinois  river.  Caho- 
kia  was  settled  about  the  same  time. 

Illinois  came  into  full  possession  of  the  French  in  1682,  and  was  a  depend- 
ency of  Canada  and  a  part  of  Louisiana.  During  the  period  of  French  rule 
in  Louisiana,  the  population  probably  never  exceeded  ten  thousand. 

To  the  year  1730  the  following  five  distinct  settlements  were  made  in  the 
territory  of  Illinois,  numbering  in  population  one  hundred  and  forty  French 
families,  about  six  hundred  ''converted"  Indians,  and  many  traders:  Cahokia, 
near  the  mouth  of  Cahokia  creek  and  about  five  miles  below  the  present  city  of 
St.  Louis;  St.  Philip,  about  forty-five  miles  below  Cahokia;  Fort  Chartres, 
twelve  miles  above  Kaskaskia;  Kaskaskia,  situated  on  the  Kaskaskia  river,  six 
miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi;  and  Prairie  du  Rocher,  near 
Fort  Chartres.  Fort  Chartres  was  built  in  1718,  and  was  for  a  time  the 
headquarters  of  the  military  commandants  of  the  district  of  Illinois,  and  the 
most  impregnable  fortress  in  North  America.  For  about  eighty  years  the 
French  retained  peaceable  possession  of  Illinois.       For  more  than  a  hundred 


16  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

years  peace  between  the  white  man  and  the  red  man  Avas  unbroken,  and  when 
at  last  this  reign  of  harmony  terminated,  it  was  not  caused  by  the  conciliatory 
Frenchman,  but  by  the  blunt  and  sturdy  Anglo-Saxon.  During  the  century 
now  under  consideration,  no  regular  court  was  held  by  the  French  occupants. 
In  1765,  the  country  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  As  early  as  1750, 
there  could  be  perceived  the  first  threes  of  the  Revolution,  which  gave  a  new 
master  and  new  institutions  to  Illinois. 

THE  INDIANS. 

The  opinion  prevails  that  the  inhabitants  of  North  America  who  followed 
the  mound-builders  were  those  who  reared  the  great  cities,  the  ruins  of  which 
are  found  in  Central  America.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  this  people  was  far 
more  civilized  and  advanced  in  -avta  than  Avere  the  mound-builders.  If  we 
are  to  judge  of  these  cities  by  their  ruins  of  broken  columns,  fallen  arches  and 
crumbling  walls  of  temples,  palaces  and  pyramids,  which  in  some  places  bestrew 
the  ground,  thej^  must  have  been  cities  of  great  extent,  magnificent  and  very 
populous.  Then  to  consider  the  time  required  to  bring  them  to  their  present 
ruined  condition  we  must  conclude  that  the  date  of  their  building  was  far  in 
the  past. 

The  Indians,  believed  to  be  the  third  race  inhabiting  North  America,  are 
distinct  in  every  particular  from  the  former  two.  Their  origin  is  also  envel- 
oped in  mystery.  Neither  had  they  any  traditions  respecting  their  predeces- 
sors. They  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  them,  consequently  they  must  have 
been  successors  of  a  race  which  had  entirely  passed  away  before  the  Indian 
made  his  appearance  on  this  continent.  There  are  several  widely  different 
opinions  expressed  at  length  in  the  various  histories  of  the  North  American 
Indian  as  to  their  origin,  but  as  already  stated,  mystery  surrounds  their  begin- 
ning as  a  race,  and  the  opinions  expressed  are  largely  a  matter  of  speculation. 
A  quite  common  supposition,  well  expressed  in  Chapman's  history,  is  that 
"they  are  a  derivative  race  and  sprang  from  one  or  more  of  the  ancient  peo- 
ples of  Asia. 

"In  the  absence  of  all  authentic  history,  and  when  even  tradition  is  want- 
ing, any  attempt  to  point  out  the  particular  location  of  their  origin  must  prove 
unsatisfactory.  Though  the  exact  place  of  origin  may  never  be  known,  yet 
the  striking  coincidence  of  physical  organization  between  the  oriental  type  of 
mankind  and  the  Indians  point  unmistakably  to  some  part  of  Asia  as  the  place 
whence  they  emigrated,  which  was  originallj^  peopled  to  a  great  extent  by  the 
children  of  Shem.       In  this  connection,  it  has  been  claimed  that  a  meeting  of 


IILSTORV   OF   FOKJ)   COUNTY  17 

the  Europeans,  Indians  and  Africans  on  the  continent  of  America,  is  the  fnl- 
tillnient  of  a  i)roi)he('y  as  rcccn-chMJ  in  Genesis,  ix.  27:  'God  shall  enlarge 
Ja})heth,  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem ;  and  Canaan  shall  be  his  ser- 
vant.'  Assuming  the  theory  to  be  true  that  the  Indian  tribes  are  of  Shemitic 
origin,  they  were  met  on  this  continent  in  the  fifteenth  century  by  the  Japh- 
ethic  race,  after  the  two  stocks  had  passed  around  the  globe  by  directly  differ- 
ent routes.  A  few  years  afterward  the  Ilamatic  branch  of  the  human  family 
were  brought  from  the  coast  of  Africa. 

"During  the  occupancy  of  the  continent  by  the  three  distinct  races,  the 
children  of  Japheth  have  grown  and  prospered,  while  the  called  and  not  volun- 
tary sons  of  Hani  have  endured  a  servitude  in  the  wider  stretching  valleys  of 
the  tents  of  Shem." 

Ridpath,  in  his  history  of  the  ITnited  States,  says:  "The  origin  of  the 
North  American  Indian  is  involved  in  complete  obscurity.  That  they  are  one 
of  the  older  races  of  mankind  cannot  be  doubted.  But  at  what  date  or  by 
what  route  they  came  to  the  western  continent  is  an  unsolved  problem.  The 
notion  that  the  Indians  are  the  descendants  of  the  Israelites  is  absurd.  That 
half-civilized  tribes  wandering  from  beyond  the  Euphrates  should  reach  North 
America,  surpasses  human  credulity." 

No  doubt  all  of  us,  having  in  our  school  days  read  the  stories  of  Indian 
wars,  were  under  the  impression  that  the  various  tribes  peopled  this  country 
quite  densely,  so  that  wherever  the  pioneer  might  travel  in  this  newly  discov- 
ered land,  the  red  man  with  bow  and  arrow,  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife, 
glared  upon  him  from  every  thicket  and  steathily  glided  through  the  tall 
grasses  of  the  prairie  watching  the  white  man's  course. 

But  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  authorities  that  when  America  was  dis- 
covered in  1492,  the  whole  continent  was  thinl>'  populated,  as  compared  with 
the  present  time,  by  roving  bands  or  tribes  of  Indians. 

In  some  few  regions,  a  considerable  degree  of  civilization  and  skill  in  agri- 
culture had  been  obtained  in  Mexico  and  Peru. 

The  number  of  Indians  in  this  country,  when  permanent  settlements  began 
to  be  made,  is  not  known,  but  pi'obably  amounted  in  all  the  vast  territory,  as 
estimated  by  w^ell  informed  writers,  to  only  a  few  millions — perhaps  two  or 
three. 

As  almost  every  one  know^,  these  were  called  Indians  by  the  Europeans 
from  the  erroneous  idea  of  Columbus  and  the  men  of  that  age,  that  there  was 
only  one  continent;  and  that  they  had  reached  the  eastern  shore  of  Asia  when 
America  was  discovered. 


18  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  whole  region  comprising  our  country  was  in  the  possession  of  a  great 
number  of  these  tribes.  They  divided  the  country  between  them  in  an  indefi- 
nite way,  war  and  hunting  being  their  chief  occupations.  They,  generally 
speaking,  attempted  a  very  little  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

The  settlements  of  Indians  were  as  indefinite  and  movable  as  their  boun- 
daries, and  they  attached  very  little  value  to  land.  Territory  was  acquired 
from  them  partly  by  force  and  partly  l)y  i)urchase. 

The  last  was  usually  made  for  a  nominal  sum  and  with  little  compre- 
hension, on  their  part,  of  the  importance  and  future  effects  of  its  alienation. 
Historians  have  classified  the  Indian  families  or  nations  as  follows : 

1.  The  Esquimaux,  inhabiting  the  country  from  Labrador  to  Alaska.  The 
name  means  the  eaters  of  raw  meat. 

2.  The  Algonquins,  who  occupied  the  country  extending  from  Nova  Sco- 
tia south  of  the  James  river,  thence  west  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  thence 
northward  along  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  and  on  to  Lake  "Winnipeg, 
excepting  that  portion  which  was  occupied  by  the  Huron-Iroquois,  as  hereafter 
described. 

3.  The  Huron-Iroquois,  a  powerful  nation.  occui)i('d  a  tract  of  country 
within  that  of  the  Algonquins.  Their  borders  extended  over  the  country 
reaching  from  Georgian  bay  and  Lake  Huron  to  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  south 
of  those  lakes  to  the  valley  of  the  upper  Ohio,  and  eastward  to  the  river  Sorel. 

4.  The  Appalachians  inhabited  that  portion  of  the  country  south  of  the 
Algonquins,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

5.  The  Dakotas,  called  by  the  French  Sioux,  occupied  a  district  of  coun- 
try west  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  of  the  Missouri  and  Platte  rivers. 

G.  Tlie  Shoshones,  occupying  the  country  south  and  west  of  the  Dakota^. 
It  will  be  understood  that  these  nations  were  again  divided  into  many  tribes 
each,  speaking  different  dialects  of  the  common  language,  by  which  the  main 
group  was  distinguished.  As  a  general  rule,  Indians,  when  asked  their  name, 
gave  the  term.  Men  or  Real  Men.  Each  tribe  had  a  name,  generally  that  of 
the  nnimnl  or  object  which  was  'the  totem  of  the  tribe.  By  referring  to  the 
foregoing  description  of  the  territory  occupied  by  the  Algonquins,  it  Avill  be 
observed  that  our  state  was,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  that  nation.  The  Algon(iuin  tribes  occupying  the  western 
part  of  the  country  thus  allotted  to  this  nation,  were  the  several  tribes  of  the 
Illinois  and  Miami  confederacies,  the  Pottawattamies,  the  Kickai)oos  and  scat- 
tered bands  of  Shawnees  and  Delawares. 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  21 


THE   ILLINOIS. 

From  the  aceouuts,  the  Illinois  seems  to  have  laid  claim  to  quite  an  exten- 
sive tract  of  country,  the  eastern  boundary  thereof  being  the  ridge  that  divides 
the  waters  that  flow  into  the  Wabash  above  the  headwaters  of  Saline  creek, 
from  those  flowing  into  the  Illinois  river,  the  northern  limit  being  a  line  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Des  Plaines  river  westward  beyond  the  Mississippi.  On  the 
north,  the  Illinois  for  a  long  time  contested  their  boundary  line  with  the  Chip- 
peways,  Winnebagoes,  Sacs  and  Foxes.  Afterward,  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  Kick- 
apoos.  assisted  by  the  Pottawattamies,  became  the  successful  invaders  of  the 
land  of  the  Illinois.  On  the  east  came  the  Miamis,  who  in  language  and  man- 
ners much  resembled  the  Illinois,  with  whom  they  originally  bore  a  close 
affinity. 

General  Harrison  stated  that  ''the  Illinois  confederacy  was  composed  of 
five  tribes:  The  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias,  Peorians,  Michigans  and  the  Tamarois." 

It  is  authoritatively  stated  that  the  Algonquin  language,  as  spoken  l)y  the 
Ojibways,  was  regarded  as  the  court  language,  so,  if  a  person  fell  among  a 
strange  tribe,  whose  language  he  did  not  understand  and  spoke  this  language, 
they  were  bound,  as  a  general  rule,  to  furnish  some  one  who  could  communi- 
cate with  him  in  that  language.  It  was  through  tliis  language  that  iNIarquette 
spoke  M'ith  all  the  tribes,  and  so  it  was  with  all  the  early  French  trav- 
elers. Of  all  states  in  the  Union,  the  following  have  Indian  names :  ]\Iassa- 
chusetts,  Connecticut,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Michigan,  Illinois, 
Arkansas,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Oregon,  the  most  of  these  being  derived  from 
great  rivers  or  other  waters. 

The  first  accounts  we  have  of  the  Illinois  are  given  by  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries. In  the  "Relations"  for  the  year  1655,  it  is  stated  that  the  Illinois 
are  neighbors  of  the  Winnebagoes;  and  again,  the  following  year  it  was 
reported  "that  the  Illinois  nation  dwell  more  than  sixty  leagues  from  here, 
and  beyond  a  great  river,  which  as  near  as  can  be  conjectured,  flows  into  the 
sea  toward  Virginia.  These  people  are  warlike.  They  use  the  bow,  rarely 
the  gun,  and  never  the  canoe."  At  this  time  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  were 
living  west  of  the  IMississippi,  the  reference  being  to  this  river.  While  the 
Illinois  were  like  their  brethren  of  a  roving  nature,  they  were  not  so  much  so 
as  other  tribes. 

Their  favorite  portions  of  the  state  seemed  to  be  along  the  Illinois  river, 
and  on  the  Mississippi  from  the  Kaskaskia  to  where  Cairo  now  stands.  Beck- 
with,  in  describing  them,  says:       "In  form  they  were  tall  and  lithe.       They 


22  _  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

were  noted  for  their  swiftness  of  foot.  They  wore  moccasins  prepared  from 
buffalo  hides,  and  a  small  covering  extending  from  the  waist  to  the  knee.  The 
rest  of  the  body  was  entirely  nude." 

The  art  of  hunting  not  only  supplied  the  Indian  with  food,  but,  like  that 
of  war,  was  a  means  of  gratifying  his  love  of  distinction. 

The  male  children  were  earl.y  taught  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow.  They 
were  as  carefully  trained  in  hunting  and  Indian  warfare  as  are  the  boj^s  and 
girls  of  our  time  in  the  elements  of  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic. 

The  dwellings  were  simple  and  rude  in  character.  A  pleasant  spot  Avas 
selected  by  the  river  or  near  a  spring,  and  here  they  raised  their  groups  of 
A^igwaras.  constructed  chiefly  of  the  bark  of  trees.  The  skins  of  animals  sorvod 
for  beds  and  wearing  apparel.  Depending  principally  on  the  chase  for  sub- 
sistence, this  being,  somewhat  uncertain,  they  were  led  to  cultivate  small 
patches  of  corn. 

Commerce  or  an  interchange  of  articles  being  almost  unknown,  every  fam- 
ily did  everything  necessary  within  itself  to  provide  food  and  comfort. 

When  disputes  or  dissensions  arose,  each  Indian  relied  upon  himself  to 
adjust  the  difficulty.  Blood  for  blood  was  the  rule,  and  the  relatives  of  the 
slain  man  were  bound  to  obtain  bloody  revenge.  The  result  of  this  was  bit- 
ter feuds  and  wars  of  extermination. 

"War  was  the  Indian's  glory  and  delight;  not  war  after  the  civilized  rule, 
but  war  where  individual  skill,  endurance,  gallantry  and  cruelty  were  the 
prime  requisites.  During  the  intervals  of  his  more  exciting  pursuits  the  Indian 
employed  his  time  in  decorating  his  person  with  all  the  refinement  of  paint 
and  feathers,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  his  arms  and  of  canoes. 

The  main  drudgery  and  labor  of  Indian  communities  fell  upon  the  women. 
They  planted,  tended  and  gathered  the  crops,  made  mats  and  baskets  e-^rried 
the  burdens  on  the  march— in  fact  they  were  but  little  better  than  slaves  to 
the  "braves." 

The  area  of  the  country  orginally  claimed  by  the  Illinois  was  reduced  by 
wars  with  their  neighbors.  The  Sioux  forced  them  eastward,  and  the  four 
tribes  already  named  encroached  upon  them  from  the  north,  and  war  parties 
from  the  Iroquois  on  the  east  rapidly  lessened  their  numbers. 

The  Illinois  confederacy  was  in  a  decline  when  they  first  came  in  contact 
with  the  French,  of  which  mention  is  hereafter  made. 

The  misfortunes  of  the  Illinois  drew  them  so  kindly  to  the  priests,  the 
coureurs  des  bois  and  soldiers,  that  the  friendship  between  the  two  races  never 
abated. 


HISTORY  OP   FORD   COUNTY  23 

The  fatal  dissolution  of  the  Illinois  rapidly  proceeded,  and  their  territory 
was  largely  appropriated  by  the  Sacs.  Foxes,  Kickapoos  and  Pottawattamies. 

By  successive  treaties,  their  remaining  lands  in  this  state  were  ceded  to 
the  United  States,  and  they  were  removed  west  of  the  Mississippi.  In  1872, 
there  remained  of  them  but  forty  souls — men,  women  and  children  all  told. 

Thus  has  disappeared  the  people  who  at  one  time  occupied  the  larger  part 
of  Illinois  and  portions  of  Iowa  and  Missouri.  In  the  year  1784  their  single 
village  at  La  Salle's  colony  could  muster  twelve  hundred  fighting  men.  When 
they  were  prosperous,  at  one  time  they  nearly  exterminated  the  Winnebagoes, 
and  their  war  parties  have  penetrated  the  country  of  the  Huron-Iroquois  as 
far  as  the  Mohawk  and  Genesee. 


THE  POTTAWATTxVMIES. 

The  country  of  the  Miamis,  as  has  already  been  stated,  extended  west  to 
the  watershed  between  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  rivers,  forming  the  eastern 
])oundaries  of  the  Illinois  tribes.  To  the  north  of  the  Miamis  were  the  Potta- 
wattamies, who  were  steadily  encroaching  upon  the  territory  of  the  Miamis. 

The  Miamis  held  their  own  until  they  obtained  possession  of  firearms, 
but  the  Illinois  could  not  withstand  their  foes  so  long. 

In  regard  to  the  Pottawattamies,  it  is  stated  in  an  official  letter  to  the 
secretary  of  war,  March  22,  1814:  "So  long  ago  as  1795,  at  the  treaty  of 
Greenville,  the  Pottawattamies  notified  the  Miamis  that  they  intended  to  settle 
upon  the  Wabash."  They  made  no  pretensions  to  the  country,  and  the  only 
excuse  for  the  intended  aggression  was  that  they  were  tired  of  eating  fish 
and  wanted  meat.  And  they  did  come.  They  established  villages  upon  the 
north  and  west  bank  of  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries  fiowing  in  from  that 
side  of  the  stream  above  the  Vermilion. 

They,  with  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  Kickapoos.  drove  the  Illinois  into  the  vil- 
lages about  Kaskaskia  and  divided  the  conquered  territory  among  themselves, 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes  choosing  that  part  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  Illinois 
river.  It  is  said  that  by  the  other  tribes  they  were  called  squatters,  who 
justly  claimed  that  the  Pottawattamies  never  had  any  land  of  their  own  and 
were  only  intruders.  They  were,  however,  foremost  at  all  treaties  and  were 
clamorous  for  the  lion's  share  of  presents  and  annuities,  particularly  where  the 
price  given  was  for  other's  lands  rather  than  their  own.  They  also  had  vil- 
lages upon  the  Illinois  and  Kankakee  rivers. 

After  the  Kickapoos  and  Pottawattamies  had  established  themselves  in  the 


24  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

valley  of  the  Wabash,  it  was  mutually  agreed  between  them  and  the  Miamis 
that  the  river  should  be  the  dividing  line,  the  two  first-named  tribes  to  occupy 
the  west  side  of  the  stream. 

The  Pottawattamies  and  Kiekapoos  were  among  the  last  to  leave  their  i)()s- 
sessions  in  Illinois  and  Indiana,  and  it  was  the  people  of  these  tribes  with 
whom  the  settlers  of  this  section  of  the  country  came,  principally  in  contact. 
They  ceased  hostilities  at  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812.  The  Pottawattamies 
owned  extensive  tracts  of  land  on  the  Wabash,  also  on  the  Tippecanoe  and 
other  western  tributaries  of  the  Wabash,  and  elsewhere  in  northwestern  Indi- 
ana, eastern  Illinois  and  southern  ]\Iichigan.  The  greater  part  of  these  reser- 
vations were  retroceded  to  the  United  States,  in  exchange  either  for  annuities 
or  lands  west  of  the  IMississippi.  As  has  already  been  noted,  the  Indians 
became  greatly  attached  to  the  French.  An  Indian  reservation  on  the  Des 
Plaines  river,  in  Cook  county,  was  occupied  by  a  band  of  Pottawattamies, 
whose  chief  was  Alexander  Robinson,  the  son  of  a  Canadian  voyageur  and  a 
Pottawattamie  woman. 

His  place  was  generally  lively  with  Indians  in  the  declining  glories  of  their 
latter  days.  Groups  of  blanketed  squaws,  with  their  papooses  slung  on  their 
backs,  and  an  equal  number  of  braves,  bedaubed  with  paint  and  ornamented 
with  feathers,  hung  around  his  home  in  listless  dalliance.  During  the  summer 
season  their  numbers  were  increased  by  visiting  braves  and  their  families  from 
other  reservations. 

Being  half  Indian  and  having  a  wife  of  the  same  race,  he  was  shut  out 
from  civilized  society  generally,  l)ut  his  character  for  integrity  and  his  reputa- 
tion for  excellence  in  those  qualifications  which  make  up  the  model  citizen 
were  Avidely  published.  When  his  tribe  was  removed,  after  carefully  weigh- 
ing the  matter,  he  chose  civilized  life,  considering  this  for  the  children's  best 
good.  He  continued  to  live  on  the  reservation  and  became  a  farmer,  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  final  emigration  of  the  Pottawattamies  from  the  Wabash  took  place 
in  the  summer  of  1838,  and  in  1846,  the  various  bands  of  this  great  tribe  were 
united  west  of  the  Mississippi,  except  a  few  scattered  bands  like  the  one  men- 
tioned, who  remained  long  after  the  departure  of  their  brethren. 

In  1863,  the  tribe  numbered  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-four 
men,  women  and  children,  which  was  an  alarming  decrease  from  the  census 
of  1854,  owing,  no  doubt,  largely  to  two  reasons — the  return  of  many  to  their 
former  home  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  many  of  the  younger  men  going  west 
to  the  buffalo  grounds. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD  COUNTY  25 

The  Pottawattainics  attested  tlieir  fidelity  to  the  i^overnmeiit  l)y  the  vohin- 
teering  of  seventy-five  of  their  young  men  to  service  in  the  war  of  1861. 


THE    KICKAPOOS. 

The  Kiekapoos,  when  first  met  by  the  whites,  inhabited  the  state  of  Wis- 
consin, but  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  gradually  moved  southward  until  they 
came  in  contact  with  the  Illinois.  Then  unitiiiti'  with  the  Pottawattamies  in 
a  warfare  upon  the  Miamis  and  Illinois,  they  steadily  drove  these  two  tribes 
from  a  great  portion  of  the  territory  occupied  by  them. 

The  Kiekapoos  early  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  French  by  committing 
depredations  upon  the  missionaries  and  others.  It  is  said  of  this  tribe  that 
they  were  not  inclined  to  receive  religious  impressions  from  the  early 
missionaries. 

Prior  to  1718,  the  Kiekapoos  had  villages  upon  the  banks  of  the  Rock  river 
and  the  Illinois.  They  are  described  as  a  clever  people  and  brave  warriors. 
Their  language  and  manners  strongly  resembled  those  of  the  Foxes.  "They 
catch  deer  by  chasing  them,  and  even  at  this  day  (1718)  make  considerable 
use  of  bows  and  arrows." 

Their  progress  south  and  west  was  no  doubt  largely  owing  to  the  fierce 
attacks  of  the  Sioux,  who  were  pressing  on  them  from  the  northwest.  The 
Kiekapoos  and  the  Foxes,  meditating  a  migration  to  the  Wabash  as  a  place  of 
security  from  the  Sioux,  the  French  became  alarmed  lest  their  tribes  should 
effect  a  junction  with  the  Iroquois  and  English.  The  matter  was  adjusted 
by  the  French  conciliating  the  Sioux,  and  for  a  number  of  years  the  Foxes 
and  Kiekapoos  remained  upon  their  old  hunting  grounds  in  northern  Illinois 
and  southern  Wisconsin.  The  theory  has  been  advanced  that  the  Mascoutins 
and  Kiekapoos  were  bands  of  one  tribe,  first  known  to  the  French  by  the  for- 
mer name,  and  subsequently  to  the  English  by  the  latter,  under  which  name 
alone  they  figure  in  our  later  annals.  This  theory  has  been  adopted  for  the 
purposes  of  this  sketch.  Another  noticeable  fact  is,  that  with  one  exception, 
the  Mascoutins  were  never  known  as  such  in  any  treaty  with  the  United  States, 
while  the  Kiekapoos  were  parties  to  many.  In  warfare,  the  Kiekapoos  were 
inferior  to  the  other  tribes  in  movements  requiring  large  numbers  of  men,  but 
in  predatory  warfare  they  were  preeminent.  Their  war  parties  usually  num- 
bered from  five  to  twenty-five  persons.  The  boldness  and  daring  of  these 
small  parties  were  very  great.  They  would  sometimes  push  out  hundreds  of 
miles  from  their  villages  and  attack  a  feeble  settlement  or  an  isolated  cabin, 


26  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

burn  the  buildings,  steal  the  live-stock,  capture  the  women  and  children,  and 
then  escape  before  a  general  alarm  could  be  given. 

The  Kickapoos  were  noted  for  their  fondness  for  horses.  They  exhibited 
great  skill  and  daring  in  stealing  them. 

Their  principal  enemies  seemed  to  be  the  Illinois,  and  after  driving  the 
latter  into  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state,  it  is  related  that  as  late  as 
1789  to  1796,  their  war  parties  kept  the  white  settlements  and  the  Illinois  tribes 
in  the  vicinity  of  Kaskaskia  in  a  state  of  continual  alarm.  During  the  time 
stated,  they  killed  and  captured  many  of  that  tribe,  as  well  as  a  number  of  the 
whites. 

After  the  close  of  the  Pontiac  war,  the  Kickapoos  and  Pottawattamies 
almost  annihilated  the  Kaskaskias,  a  band  of  the  Illinois,  at  a  place  called  Bat- 
tle Ground  Creek,  between  Kaskaskia  and  Shawneetown.  The  principal  towns 
of  the  Kickapoos  were  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Illinois,  near  Peoria,  and  on  the 
Vermilion  of  the  Wabash,  and  at  several  points  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Wa- 
bash. On  the  prairie  they  also  had  villages  west  of  Charleston,  Illinois, 
and  in  many  of  the  groves  scattered  over  the  prairies  in  the  section  of  country 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Kankakee  river,  on  the  east  by  the  Wabash,  and 
on  the  west  by  the  Illinois,  extending  south  to  the  Kaskaskia.  The  most  nota- 
ble were  their  towns  at  Elkhart  Grove,  twelve  miles  north  of  Bloomington, 
and  at  Oliver's  Grove  in  Livingston  county,  Illinois.  Consequently  that  tract 
of  country  of  which  Ford  county  is  a  part  must  have  been  the  hunting  grounds 
of  the  Kickapoos  after  the  removal  of  the  Illinois  tribes. 

These  people  became  greatly  attached  to  the  country  drained  by  the  Ver- 
milion of  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries,  and  General  Harrison  had  much 
difficulty  in  securing  their  consent  to  cede  it  to  the  general  government. 

The  Kickapoos  were  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  in  considerable  numbers, 
and  fought  with  frenzied  courage.  During  the  war  of  1812,  they  sided  with 
the  English,  and  sent  out  numerous  war  parties  that  kept  the  settlements  in 
Illinois  and  Indiana  territories  in  constant  danger. 

When  the  latter  war  closed,  the  Kickapoos  ceased  active  hostilities  upon 
the  whites,  and  within  a  few  years  afterward  disposed  of  their  lands  in  this 
state  and  Indiana,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  bauds,  removed  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

Beckwith,  an  excellent  authority,  says  of  them:  "As  compared  with 
other  Indians,  the  Kickapoos  were  industrious,  intelligent,  and  cleanly  in  their 
habits,  and  were  better  armed  and  clothed  than  the  other  tribes.  The  men,  as 
a  rule,  were  tall,  sinewy  and  active;  the  women  were  lithe,  and  many  of  them 


HISTORY  OF   FOlil)   COUNTY  27 

by  no  means  hu-kinti'  in  beauty.  Their  dialect  was  soft  ami  li(]uid,  as  (■(»iii- 
parecl  with  the  rough  and  gutteral  language  of  the  Pottawattamies.  They 
kept  aloof  from  the  white  people  as  a  rule,  and  in  this  way  preserved  their 
characteristics,  and  contracted  fewer  of  the  vices  of  the  white  man  than  other 
tribes.  Their  numbers  were  never  great,  as  compared  with  the  Miamis  or  Pot- 
tawattamies; however,  they  made  up  for  the  deficiency  in  this  respect  by  the 
energy  of  their  movements." 

Thus  we  have  attempted  to  briefly  sketch  the  red  man  as  he  once  lived 
upon  these  prairies  and  in  the  groves  but  the  space  for  this  subject  in  a  work 
of  this  character  is  necessarily  quite  limited. 

To  summarize:  We  first  find  the  Illinois  and  Miamis  occupying  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  wdth  their  dividing  line  running  north  and  south,  nearly 
identical  with  the  range  line  of  our  county.  Following  them  came  the  Kicka- 
poos  and  Pottawattamies,  the  former  taking  the  place  of  the  Illinois  tribes, 
except  that  the  Kickapoo  villages  and  hunting  grounds  extended  further  east, 
including  the  Vermilion  of  the  Wabash  and  its  tributaries. 

The  Indian  came  to  this  country,  and  now  he  has  left  it  to  return  no 
more.  He  left  the  country  no  better  as  far  as  we  can  judge  for  having  been 
here. 

We  find  the  arrowheads  and  spearheads,  saws,  flesh-scrapers,  hammers  and 
spades  made  from  stone,  and  all  demanding  great  patience  in  their  manufac- 
ture, because  of  the  lack  of  suitable  implements  or  machinery  to  produce 
them. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  maize  or  Indian  corn  which  they  cultivated  to 
a  limited  extent,  and  tobacco  are  the  only  contributions  made  by  them  to  us 
in  the  way  of  products  of  the  soil. 

"A  noble  race,  but  they  are  gone; 
And  we  have  built  our  homes  upon 
Fields  where  their  generations  slept." 


THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

As  early  as  1784,  Thomas  Jefferson,  then  a  member  of  congress,  submitted 
a  plan  of  government  for  all  the  territory  from  the  southern  to  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  all  of  which  was  expected  to  be  ceded  by  the 
states  claiming  the  same.  By  this  plan  seventeen  states  were  to  be  formed 
from  this  territory. 

One  of  its  provisions  was  "that  after  the  year  1800  there  shall  be  neither 


28  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  in  any  of  said  states,  other  than  in  the  pun- 
ishment of  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted."  This 
provision  was  rejected,  not  having  seven  states  in  its  favor. 

This  rejected  provision  was  again  proposed  by  Rufus  King  the  following 
year.  The  proposition  again  failed.  The  ordinance  of  1787,  embracing  in 
part  the  plan  submitted  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  1874,  Avas  reported  by  Nathan 
Dane. 

The  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  powers  were  vested  in  a  governor 
and  three  judges,  who  with  the  secretary  were  to  be  appointed  by  congress — 
the  governor  for  three  years,  the  judges  during  good  behavior. 

The  laws  of  the  territory  were  to  be  such  laws  of  the  original  states  as 
the  governor  and  judges  should  think  proper  to  adopt.  These  laws  were  to 
be  in  force  until  disapproved  by  congress.  When  the  territory  shoukl  contain 
five  thousand  free  male  inhabitants  of  full  age,  there  was  to  lie  a  legis- 
lature, to  consist  of  two  branches — a  house  of  representatives,  the  members  to 
be  chosen  from  the  several  counties  or  townships,  for  the  term  of  two  years, 
and  a  legislative  council  of  five  persons,  who  were  to  hold  their  offices  for  five 
years  and  to  be  appointed  by  congress  out  of  ten  persons  previously  nominated 
by  the  house  of  representatives  of  the  territory.  All  laws  were  recpiired  to 
be  consistent  with  the  ordinance,  and  to  have  the  assent  of  the  governor. 

The  ordinance  concludes  with  six  articles  of  compact  between  the  original 
states  and  the  people  of  the  territory,  to  be  unalterable  except  by  common 
consent. 

The  first  secured  entire  religious  freedom;  the  second,  trial  by  jury,  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  the  other  fundamental  rights  usually  inserted  in 
bills  of  rights ;  the  third  provided  for  the  encouragement  and  support  of  schools 
and  enjoined  good  faith  toward  the  Indians;  the  fourth  placed  the  new  states 
to  be  formed  out  of  the  territory  upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  old  ones 
both  in  respect  to  their  privileges  and  their  burdens,  and  reserved  to  the  United 
States  the  right  to  dispose  of  the  soil;  the  fifth  authorized  the  future  division 
of  the  territory  into  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  states,  each  state  to 
be  admitted  into  the  Union,  when  it  should  contain  sixty  lliousand  inhabitants; 
the  sixth  was  the  anti-slavery  proviso  introduced  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  1784, 
so  modified  as  to  take  effect  immediately. 

This  ordinance,  which  left  the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio  (then  not  yet 
ceded)  subject  to  future  regulation,  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  eight 
states  present. 

General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  was  president  of  congress,  was  appointed 


HISTORY   OF   POKl)   COUNTY  81 

military  governor,  and  in  the  following  snninier  began  his  duties  at  ^larietta. 
In  the  year  1800,  a  line  was  drawn  tlirough  the  northwestern  territory  from 
the  mouth  of  the  great  ]\Iiami  river  to  Fort  Recovery,  and  thence  to  Canada. 

Two  years  afterward,  the  (-(nintry  east  of  this  line  was  erected  in  the  state 
of  Ohio  and  admitted  into  the  Union. 

The  portion  west  of  this  line  was  organized  under  the  name  of  the  Indi- 
ana territory.  Vincennes  was  made  the  capital,  and  General  William  Henry 
Harrison  received  the  appointment  of  governor.  Indiana  was  admitted  into 
tlie  Union  in  1816,  near  the  close  of  JMadison's  troubled  administration. 

The  Illinois  territory  was  established  February  3,  1809,  and  it  included 
"all  that  part  of  the  Indiana  territory  which  lies  west  of  the  Wabash  river 
and  Post  Vincennes  due  north  to  the  territorial  line  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada." 

Kaskaskia  was  made  the  seat  of  government. 

John  Boyle  was  appointed  governor,  but  declined  to  serve.  Ninian 
Edwards  was  then  appointed.  He  served  from  April  24,  1809,  to  December  6, 
1818,  when  he  was  made  United  States  senator  for  the  new  state  of  Illinois. 


ILLINOIS. 

Monroe's  administration  was  noted  for  the  great  number  of  new  members 
which  were  added  to  the  Union.  In  1818,  Illinois,  the  twenty-first  state, 
embracing  an  area  of  more  than  fifty-five  thousand  square  miles,  and  extend- 
ing through  more  than  five  degrees  of  latitude,  was  organized  and  admitted. 
Two  years  later,  when  the  general  census  was  taken,  Illinois  ranked  twenty- 
fourth  as  to  population.  From  that  time  up  to  1880,  her  advancement  was 
rapid,  and  we  noAv  find  only  two  states  which  outrank  Illinois  in  population 
and  wealth.  Population  of  Illinois  territory.  1810,  twelve  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-two ;  population  of  Illinois  state,  1820,  fifty-five  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two ;  population  of  Illinois  state,  1880,  three  million  seventy- 
eight  thousand  six  hundred  and  tliirt\'-six ;  population  of  Illinois  state,  1900, 
four  million  and  five  hundred  thousand.  Under  the  Constitution  of  1818,  the 
elective  officers  were  the  governor  and  lieutenant  governor,  who  held  office  for 
four  years.  The  other  state  officers  were  appointed  by  the  governor  or  chosen 
by  the  general  assembly. 

By  the  Constitution  of  1848,  all  of  the  state  officers  were  made  elective. 


32  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 


GOVERNORS    OF    ILLINOIS. 


Shadrack  Bond,    October  6,  1818 

Edward  Coles    December  5,   1822 

Ninian  Edwards December  6,  1826 

John  Reynolds December  9,  1830 

William  L.  D.  Ewing November  17,  1834 

Joseph  Duncan December  3,  1834 

Thomas  Carlin   December  7,  1838 

Thomas  Ford December  8,  1842 

Augustus  C.  French December  9,  1846 

Augustus  C.  French   January  8,  1849 

Joel  A.  Matteson  January  10,  1853 

William  H.  Bissell   January  12,  1857 

John  Wood  • March  21,  1860 

Richard  Yates  January  14,  1861 

Richard  J.  Oglesby   January  16,  1865 

John  M.  Palmer   January  11,   1869 

Richard  J.  Oglesby  January  13,  1873 

John  L.  Beveridge   January  23,  1873 

Shelby  M.  Cullom   January  8,  1877 

Shelby  M.  Cullom January  10,  1881 

John  L.  Hamilton February  6,  1883 

Richard  J.  Oglesby   1885-89 

Joseph  W.  Fifer    1889-93 

John  P.   Altgeld    1893-97 

John  R.  Tanner   1897-01 

Richard  Yates,  son  of  Richard  Yates,  the  war  governor 1901-05 

Charles   S.   Deneen    1905-08 


ILLINOIS. 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION. 

Geographical  Position — Illinois  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Wisconsin,  on 
the  east  by  Lake  ]\Iichigan,  Indiana  and  Kentucky,  on  the  soutli  l)y  Kentucky 

and  Missouri,  and  on  the  west  by  Missouri  and  Iowa  by  the  Mississippi.  It 
lies  betw^een  37  degrees  and  3  minutes  and  42  degrees  and  30  minutes  north 
latitude,  and  between  10  degrees  and  30  minutes  and  14  degrees  and  25  in  in- 


HISTOEY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  33 

utc's  longitude  west  from  Washington.  Tlie  greatest  breadth  of  the  state  from 
east  to  west  is  two  hundred  and  ten  miles,  and  its  extreme  length  from  north 
to  south  three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  miles.  The  general  form  of  the  state 
is  that  of  an  ellipsoid,  truneated  at  its  northern  extremity.  The  superficial 
area  is  about  fifty-five  thousand  five  hundred  and  tliirty-one  square  miles,  or 
thirty-five  million  five  hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand  eiglit  hundred  and 
forty  acres. 

Face  of  the  Country — The  surface  of  the  country  is  generally  level  or 
gently  rolling,  although  in  the  southern  part  near  the  large  rivers  it  is  quite 
broken  and  hilly.  Illinois  is  properly  termed  the  prairie  state;  for,  in  no 
other  part  of  the  country  are  there  to  be  found  such  vast  expanses  of  level 
prairie  as  here.  To  the  eye  of  the  observer  they  mark  the  plane  of  the  horizon 
in  every  direction,  and  seem  limitless  as  the  ocean.  As  a  general  rule  they 
occupy  the  higher  grounds.  The  timber  is  principally  confined  to  the  lower 
lands,  along  the  breaks  and  valleys  of  the  streams.  The  highest  lands  in  the 
state  are  in  the  extreme  northwestern  part,  and  are  known  as  the  mounds, 
which  are  about  eleven  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  From  Free- 
port  southward  there  is  a  gradual  descent  through  the  entire  length  of  the 
state,  except  where  it  is  broken  b^^  a  ridge  crossing  from  east  to  west  through 
Union,  Johnson  and  Pope  counties.  This  ridge  attains  an  elevation  of  about 
nine  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  while  the  elevation  at  Cairo  is  but  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet. 

Rivers — The  general  slope  of  the  watershed  is  to  the  southAvest,  and  nearly 
all  the  principal  streanLs,  after  a  general  course  in  that  direction,  flow  into 
the  Mississippi.  A  few  in  the  southeast  portion  of  the  state  empty  into  the 
Wabash,  while  some  small  ones  in  the  extreme  south  find  their  outlet  in  the 
Ohio.  The  largest  river  flowing  through  the  state  is  the  Illinois,  which  is 
formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Des  Plaines  and  Kankakee,  the  former  rising 
in  Wisconsin  and  the  latter  in  Indiana.  The  Rock  and  Kaskaskia  rivers  are 
streams  of  considerable  importance,  the  first  running  through  the  northern  and 
the  latter  through  the  southern  portion  of  the  state.  More  than  three-fourths 
of  the  circumference  of  the  state  is  bounded  by  navigable  rivers,  the  Wabash 
on  the  east,  the  Ohio  on  the  south,  and  the  Mississippi  on  the  west.  The 
two  last  named  are  among  the  largest  of  the  world,  and  afford  transportation 
for  all  classes  of  steamers.  The  Mississippi,  the  great  "Father  of  Waters," 
extends  along  the  western  boundary  a  distance  of  over  five  hundred  miles. 

Lakes — A  remarkal)le  feature  of  Illinois  is  the  almost  entire  absence  of  nat- 


34  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

ural  lakes  or  ponds.  A  few  small  ones  only  are  found  in  the  northeastern 
and  southwestern  parts  of  the  state.  There  is,  however,  a  coast  line  of  about 
sixty  miles,  extending  along  Lake  Michigan,  one  of  the  largest  of  the  five  great 
North  American  lakes. 

Soil  and  Climate — As  an  agricultural  state,  Illinois  stands  without  an 
equal.  Possessing  a  soil  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  and  a  climatic  range  of 
five  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  it  yields  a  greater  amount  and  variety  of 
botanical  production  than  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  No  large  tracts  of 
worthless  lands,  such  as  characterize  the  topography  of  all  the  other  states,  are 
to  be  found  here,  but  the  farmer  in  all  portions  of  the  commonwealth  obtains 
a  rich  reward  for  his  labor.  In  the  northern  and  central  portions  of  the 
state  are  raised  in  abundance  nearly  all  those  plants  which  are  common  in  the 
north  temperate  zone,  while  in  the  vicinity  of  Cairo,  both  the  animal  and  vege- 
table productions  partake  of  a  semi-tropical  character.  The  amount  of  rain 
which  falls  each  year  is  fully  one-half  greater  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
state  than  at  the  northern,  and  the  average  difference  in  temperature  is  about 
ten  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

Minerals — No  natural  deposits  of  gold  or  silver  are  known  to  exist;  yet 
the  mineral  productions  of  the  state  are  not  unimportant.  Fire  clay,  potter's 
clay,  and  valuable  ci[uarries  of  building  stone  are  found  in  various  localities. 
Rich  mines  of  lead  exist  in  the  vicinity  of  Galena,  and  iron  ore  in  considerable 
quantities  is  obtained  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  state.  Coal  is  the  most 
valuable  mineral  in  Illinois.  The  coal  fields  are  destined  to  gaow  more  and 
more  important,  as  their  resources  are  developed,  and  their  value  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  The  coal-bearing  strata  covers  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
entire  surface  of  the  state,  and  the  mines  are  believed  to  be  inexhaustible. 

HISTORY. 

Illinois  was  originally  a  part  of  Florida.  In  1543  it  became  a  Spanish 
colony.  Northern  Illinois  was  included  in  the  territory  granted  in  1620  to 
the  Plymouth  Company  by  King  James,  and  was  therefore  claimed  by  Great 
Britain.  In  1673  the  Mississippi  river  was  discovered  by  Marquette  and  Jol- 
iet.  In  the  same  year  they  ascended  the  Illinois  river;  and  in  1679  Robert 
Cavalier  De  La  Salle  made  further  discoveries,  descending  the  Kankakee  to 
its  mouth.  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  the  oldest  towns  on  the  Mississippi  river, 
were  settled  by  the  French  in  1682.  Illinois  at  this  time  contained  but  few 
white  inhabitants.     In  1699  it  became  a  part  of  Louisiana,  and  so  remained 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  35 

until  1763,  when  it  was  ceded  to  England.       The  white  population  now  num- 
bered about  three  thousand,  mostly  French,  the  principal  settlements  being  at 
Kaskaskia,   Cahokia,  Peoria,   Prairie  Du   Rochor,   Prairie   Du  Pont   and    Fort 
Chartres.       In  1778  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia  and  other  settlements  were  captured 
by  four  companies  of  Virginians,  under  Colonel  Clarke,  and  in  October  of  the 
same  year  an  act  was  passed    by    the    Virginia    legislature,  establishing    the 
"County  of  Illinois,"  which  embraced  all  of  Virginia  northwest  of  Ohio.       In 
1784  it  was  ceded  by  Virginia  to  the  United  States,  and  in  1787  congress  passed 
an  ordinance  for  the  government  of  all  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river, 
Arthur  St.  Clair  being  appointed  the  first  governor.      In  1803  Indiana,  includ- 
ing Illinois  and  "Wisconsin,  was  erected  into  a  separate  territory,  and  six  years 
later,  the  present  state  of  Illinois  became  a  territory  by  itself.       In  1812  it 
passed  from  the  first  to  the  second  grade  of  territorial  government,  and  sent 
a  delegate  to  congress.      The  right  of  suffrage  was  at  this  time  extended  to  the 
people,  without  regard  to  property  qualifications.       On  the  3d  of  December, 
1818,   Illinois  was  admitted  into  the  Union   as  a  sovereign  and  independent 
state.       One  section  of  land  in  each  township  was  at  once  donated  for  school 
use,  and  two  townships  in  the  state  for  the  use  of  a  seminary.       Since  that 
time,  the  growth  of  Illinois  has  been  astonishingly  rapid,  and  it  now  ranks  the 
fourth  state  in  the  Union  in  wealth,  population  and  importance.       The  num- 
ber of  its  white  inhabitants  in  1800  was  only  about  3.000.       In  1810  the  number 
had  increased  to  12,  282;  in  1820  to  57,000;  in  1830  to  157,000;  in  1840  to 
476,000;  in  1850  to  851,470;  in  1860  to  1,711,951;  in  1865  to  2,141,510;  in 
1870  to  2,539,891;  and  in  1880  to  3,077,871.       Chicago,  its  largest  city,  con- 
tains a  population  of  over  2,000,000.       The  foreign  population  of  Illinois  is 
largely  composed  of   Germans,   Irish,   Welsh,   Scotch,   French,   Swiss,   Swedes, 
Danes  and  Poles.       Of  tlie  American  born,  the  north  part  of  the  state  is  set- 
tled principally  from  New  York  and  New  England,  the  central  from  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and  the  southern  from  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and 
the  Carolinas. 

Internal  Improvements — The  works  of  art  compare  favorably  with  those 
of  the  older  states.  It  has  not  been  a  century  since  Illinois  was  admitted 
into  the  Union,  yet  the  number  and  value  of  her  internal  improvements  already 
completed  are  immense.  Many  thousands  of  miles  of  railroad  lines  are  in 
successful  operation  and  more  are  in  the  process  of  construction.  The  number 
and  character  of  the  splendid  edifices  which  have  been  erected  for  courthouses, 
humane  institutions,  seminaries  of  learning  and  churches,  and  the  other  public 
works  which  adorn  the  state,  bespeak  at  once  the  enterprise,  intelligence  and 
moral  worth  of  the  people. 


36  HISTORY   OP   FORD   COUNTY 

Politics — Illinois  is  at  present  a  republican  state.  The  northern  part  is 
almost  exclusively  controlled  by  the  dominant  party,  while  the  central  is  gen- 
erally democratic,  and  the  extreme  southern — familiarly  known  as  Egypt — is 
about  equally  divided  between  the  two  parties. 


EXPLANATION  OF  GOVERNMENT  SURVEYS. 

All  the  surveys  of  Illinois  are  made  from  three  established  lines,  known 
as  the  second,  third  and  fourth  principal  meridians.  The  second  principal 
meridian  runs  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Blue  river  in  Indiana. 
The  third  principal  meridian,  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river. 
The  fourth  principal  meridian  starts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  follows 
up  the  stream  to  a  point  opposite  Beardstown,  and  runs  thence  due  north. 

Townships  lying  west  of  the  third  principal  meridian  and  the  Illinois 
river  number  nortli  and  south  from  a  base-line  which  runs  due  west  from 
Beardstown.  All  the  other  townships  number  north  and  south  from  a  base- 
line which  runs  through  the  center  of  St.  Clair  county. 

Ranges  number  from  the  fourth  principal  meridian  west  to  the  IMississippi 
river  and  east  to  the  third  principal  meridian  and  the  Illinois  river,  and  from 
the  third  principal  meridian  west  to  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers. 

Ranges  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian  and  north  of  a  line  passing 
through  the  center  of  Kankakee  county  number  from  said  meridian  east  to  the 
state  line.  The  other  ranges  number  from  the  third  principal  meridian,  east 
to  the  eastern  line  of  range  eleven,  and  west  from  the  second  principal  merid- 
ian to  the  same  line. 

Each  township  is  six  miles  square,  and  is  divided  into  sections,  which  num- 
ber from  one  to  thirty-six ;  number  one  being  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
township.  Each  regular  section  contains  six  hundred  and  forty  acres.  Frac- 
tional townships  are  occasioned  by  inaccurate  surveys.  Fractional  sections' 
are  due  to  the  same  cause,  and  are  usually  found  on  the  north  and  west  side 
of  each  township.  Correction  lines,  running  east  and  west,  are  established  at 
distances  of  about  thirty  miles  apart,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  such  errors 
as  would  naturally  be  occasioned  by  the  curvature  of  the  earth. 

THE  ECONOMIC  RESOURCES  OF  ILLINOIS. 

Of  the  varied  economic  resources  of  Illinois,  only  those  whicli  are  of 
supreme  importance  to  the  state  as  a  whole,  such  as  agriculture,  mining,  bank- 


HISTORY  OF   FORD    COUNTY  37 

ing,  transportation  and  manufacturing  industries,  will  be  briefly  reviewed  in 
this  article. 

Agriculture  is  one  of  the  greatest  industries  of  the  state.  The  large  yield 
of  those  crops  for  which  the  state  is  adapted  make  ample  amends  for  what- 
ever deficiency  there  may  be  in  the  variety  of  products.  In  1900,  out  of 
the  total  acreage  of  thirty-two  million  seven  hundred  and  ninety-four  thousand 
and  seven  hundred  and  twenty-eight  acres  in  the  state,  twenty-seven  million 
six  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thousand  two  hundred  and  nineteen  acres  were 
improved  land.  In  the  value  of  farm  property,  Illinois  leads  the  list  of  states 
with  a  total  value  of  two  billion  four  million  three  hundred  and  sixteen  thou- 
sand ("iti'ht  hundred  and  ninety  seven  dollars.  In  the  value  of  farm  products, 
Iowa  takes  the  lead  ^\'ith  an  annual  product  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
million  four  hundred  and  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty  eight  dol- 
lars in  comparison  with  three  hundred  and  forty-five  million  six  hundred  and 
forty-nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  eleven  dollars  for  Illinois.  The  improved 
acreage  of  the  state  in  1905  was  divided  among  the  various  leading  crops  as 
follows:  "Wheat,  one  million  four  hundred  and  forty-seven  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-four  acres ;  oats,  three  million  two  hundred  and  forty-two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-two  acres ;  corn,  seven  million  seven  hundred 
and  forty-three  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  acres;  hay,  two  million 
five  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-three  acres;  rye, 
eighty-seven  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty  acres ;  barley,  twenty-nine  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  sixty-three  acres,  with  four  million  two  hundred  and 
eighty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  acres  in  pasture. 

Although  in  acreage  of  cereals  in  1900,  Iowa  ranked  first  with  sixteen  mil- 
lion nine  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  and  ninety-five  acres,  and  Illinois  second 
with  sixteen  million  seven  hundred  and  sixty-nine  thousand  and  ten  acres,  yet 
Illinois  ranked  first  in  the  Union  in  value  of  all  crops,  the  valuation  being  two 
hundred  and  twelve  million  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  dollars,  Iowa  and  Ohio  following  in  order.  In  value  of  cer- 
eals, Illinois  again  led  with  a  production  valued  at  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
million  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty  seven 
dollars,  Iowa  and  Ohio  following  as  in  the  value  of  all  crops.  Among  specific 
products,  Illinois  produced  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  million  one  hundred 
and  forty-nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty  bushels  of  corn,  enough  to 
place  her  fifteen  million  beyond  her  nearest  competitor  in  1900.  In  the  pro- 
duction of  oats,  the  state  was  likewise  twelve  million  bushels  in  advance  of  any 
other  state,  with  a  total  production  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  million  three 


38  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

hundred  and  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty  hushels.  In  1900.  Illinois 
produced  sixty  million  six  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  of  the  ninety  million  nine  hundred  and  forty-seven  thousand 
three  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  of  broom  corn  produced  in  the  entire  United 
States.  The  number  of  tons  of  hay  and  forage  crops,  three  million  nine  hundred 
and  forty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-three  tons,  placed  Illi- 
nois in  the  sixth  place,  and  in  rye,  the  state  ranked  eighth.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  were  devoted  to  the  growing 
of  vegetables,  which  were  produced  to  the  value  of  ten  million  three  hundred 
and  forty-six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-seven  dollars.  In  the  num- 
ber of  apple  trees,  Illinois  ranked  third  among  the  states,  with  a  production  of 
nine  million  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  thousand  one  hundred  and  fift.v 
bushels  apples.  These  figures  show  the  importance  of  agriculture  in  Illinois, 
and  the  high  position  which  the  state  takes  among  the  states  of  the  Union  in 
agricultural  products. 

Next  in  importance  to  agriculture  in  the  natural  products  of  the  state  is 
coal.  Only  one  state  in  the  Union  surpasses  Illinois  in  value  of  coal  pro- 
duced. All  the  coal  that  is  found  in  this  state  is  bituminous,  differing  in  value 
at  the  mines  from  one  dollar  and  thirty-seven  cents  per  ton  for  lump  coal  to 
fifty-six  cents  per  ton  for  pea  coal.  The  total  output  of  the  state  for  1904 
was  thirty-seven  million  seventy-seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
tons  compared  with  fifteen  million  six  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  six  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  tons  in  1891,  an  increase  of  nearly  twent.v-two  million  tons, 
or  over  one  hundred  and  forty  per  cent.  The  number  of  mines  in  1904  was 
nine  hundred  and  thirty-two,  an  increase  of  fourteen  since  1891,  and  the  num- 
ber of  hands  employed  in  the  mines  had  increased  from  thirty-two  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  fifty-one  to  forty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixt.v- 
one.  The  total  value  of  the  coal  at  the  mines  was  forty  million  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-four  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  dollars.  In  respect 
to  the  distribution  of  the  industry  over  the  state,  Sangamon  county  led  with 
a  production  of  four  million  five  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  three  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  tons,  St.  Clair  county  second  with  three  million  four  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy-nine  tons  and  Vermilion 
county  was  third  with  a  production  of  three  million  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
thousand  and  sixty  tons.  It  is  a  significant  fact  as  sliowing  the  extent  of  the 
distribution  of  coal  in  the  state,  that  out  of  tli(>  one  hundred  and  two  ('ounti(>s, 
fifty-four  are  coal  producing. 

No  statement  of  the  industrial  activity  of  the  state  would  be  complete 


CITY  HALL,  GIBSOX  CITY 


HISTORY   OF   FORD    COUNTY  41 

witliont  something  being  said  of  the  banking  business.  Banks  are  so  essential 
to  tlio  l)usiness  world  of  today,  that  the  volume  of  their  transactions  are  a  fair 
indication  of  the  business  life  of  the  state.  During  the  last  few  yeai-s,  Chi- 
cago has  passed  Ixith  Philadelphia  and  lioston  in  the  amount  of  her  clearing- 
house transactions,  the  amount  of  clearances  for  1904  being  eight  billion  eight 
hundred  and  eight  million  ninety-three  thousand  tAvo  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
dollars.  The  number  of  national  banks  in  the  state  in  1904  was  three  hundred 
aiul  twenty-four  with  a  capitalization  of  forty-eight  million  eight  hundred  and 
eleven  thousand  dollars,  and  a  surplus  of  twenty-two  million  two  hundred  aiul 
eighty-nine  thousand  dollars.  The  number  of  state  banks  for  the  same  year 
was  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  with  a  capital  of  thirty-eight  million  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  a  surplus  of  twenty-five  million  six  hun- 
dred and  thirty  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-seven  dollars.  Of  the 
two  hundred  and  eighty-five  state  banks,  one  hundred  and  nineteen  were  oper- 
ating savings  departments  and  thirty  were  exercising  trust  powers.  The  inimlxT 
of  private  l)aii]\s  in  1!)()2  was  six  hundi-ed  and  thirty-eight,  capitalized  at 
thirteen  million  twelve  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  dollars,  and  hav- 
ing a  surplus  of  two  million  five  hundred  and  fifty-seven  thousand  three 
Inindred  and  two  dollars.  There  were  fortv-three  trust  companies  in  1904;  of 
this  number  thirty  were  operating  under  the  State  Banking  Act  of  1887,  three 
were  or'^'anizcd  under  the  Trust  Company  Act  of  1887,  with  a  capital  of  five 
million  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  a  surplus  of  one  million 
one  hundred  and  eighteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  four  dollars,  and  ten 
were  foreign  corporations  qualified  as  trust  companies.  This  makes  a  grand 
total  of  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty  banking  institutions  in  the  state 
with  a  capital  of  one  hundred  and  six  million  five  hundred  and  twenty-three 
thoiLsand  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  dollars,  and  a  surplus  of  fifty-one  mil- 
lion five  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-three 
dollars.  These  figures  when  compared  with  those  of  1890  show  what  an  enormous 
development  has  taken  place  in  the  banking  business  during  the  last  fourteen 
years.  In  1904,  as  stated  above,  there  were  three  hundred  and  twenty-four 
national  banks;  in  1890  there  were  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven.  In  1904, 
there  were  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  state  banks;  in  1890  there  were  forty. 
In  1902  there  were  six  hundred  and  thirty-eight  private  banks;  in  1890  there 
were  one  hundred  and  sixty-four.  In  1904  there  were  thirty-three  trust  com- 
panies; in  1890  there  were  only  seventeen.  In  1890  there  was  a  grand  total 
of  three  hundred  and  eighty-eight  banking  institutions  in  the  state  with  a 
capitalization  of  twenty-eight    million    two    hundred    and    sixty-five    thousand 


42  HISTORY   OF   FORD    COUNTY 

three  hundred  and  sixty-three  dollars  and  a  surplus  of  nine  million  seventy- 
three  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  dollars;  in  1904  the  number  was 
one  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty,  the  capitalization  one  hundred  and  six 
million  five  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  dol- 
lars, and  the  surplus  fifty-one  million  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  five 
hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars,  an  increase  in  each  of  these  items  of  over 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  per  cent.  Such  increases  show  not  only  the 
increase  of  banking  transactions,  but  also  the  great  development  of  all  kinds 
of  business  to  the  needs  of  which  the  banks  respond. 

For  three  decades,  Illinois  has  led  in  miles  of  railroad.  With  abundant 
supplies  of  bituminous  coal  throughout  the  state,  mining,  manufacturing  and 
railroads  have  developed  together.  There  were  in  1904  in  Illinois  eleven  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles  of  main  line  and  enough  more  in 
branches,  second,  industrial  and  yard  tracks  to  make  the  total  mileage  twenty 
thousand  and  sixty-five.  In  1900  there  were  nineteen  and  sixty-five  hundredths 
for  every  one  hundred  square  miles  of  territory.  The  only  states  approaching 
Illinois  in  amount  of  mileage  are  Pennsylvania  and  Texas,  Pennsylvania 
having  slightly  more  miles  per  one  hundred  square  miles  and  Texas  but  one- 
seventh  as  much  per  one  hundred  square  miles.  The  number  of  employes  of 
the  railroads  in  Illinois  in  1904  were  one  hundred  and  fiftpen  thousand  four 
hundred  and  seven,  to  whom  wages  to  the  sum  of  seventy-two  million  seventy- 
eight  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-seven  dollars  were  paid.  The  number 
of  passengers  carried  in  Illinois  was  fifty-three  million  five  hundred  and 
forty-seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety,  and  the  number  of  passengers 

carried  one  mile  was  one  billion  seven  hundred  and  fifty-four  million  nine  hun- 
dred and  nine  thousand,  three  hundred  and  twenty-six.  The  number  of  tons 
of  freight  carried  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  million  five  hundred  and 
eighty-four  thousand  and  seventy-eight,  a  total  of  twelve  billion  five  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  million  two  hundred  and  se-^^enteen  thousnnd  i^vo  ]^m^<^ro(} 
and  eighty-six  ton-miles.  From  the  passenger  service  thirty-eight  million  eight 
hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-two  dollars  was 
derived  and  from  the  freight  service  eighty-eight  million  four  Inindred  and  six 
thousand  five  hundred  and  fortA-two  dollars  earnings  were  received,  the  total 
earnings  and  income  for  the  railroads  in  Illinois  for  the  year  1904  being  one 
hundred  and  forty-one  million  four  hundred  and  fifty-four  thousand,  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty-nine  dollars.  In  1890,  fourteen  years  earlier,  although  there 
was  nearly  the  same  amount  of  main  track  in  Illinois,  only  twenty-four  million 
nine  hundred  and  ten  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty  passengers    were 


HISTORY  OF   FORD    COUNTY  48 

carried,  over  seventeen  million  less  than  in  1001.  The  inunl)er  of  passengers 
carried  one  mile  has  increased  nearly  one  hnndred  per  cent  in  the  short  inter- 
val of  ten  years.  The  tons  of  freiolit  had  increased  from  forty-eisfht  million 
in  round  ]niin))crs  to  eiyhty-eiglit  million  dufiii<;-  the  same  period.  The  total 
income  had  increased  from  seventy-three  million  to  one  hnndred  and  eij?ht  mil- 
lion dollars.  These  figures  show  that  railroad  building  is  pretty  well 
advanced  in  Illinois,  that  new  construction  is  proceeding  slowly,  as  it  should, 
but  that  greater  use  is  being  made  of  existing  facilities. 

It  is  in  manufactures  that  the  great  expansion  of  the  state's  energies  is 
now  taking  place.  This  accounts  in  some  degree  for  the  unusual  increase  in 
the  urban  population  of  the  state.  The  high  rank  of  Illinois  as  a  manufac- 
turing state  as  stated  in  the  census  of  1900  is  due  primarily  to  its  transporta- 
tion facilities.  The  communication  with  the  east  afforded  by  Lake  Michigan 
has  made  Chicago  the  great  distributing  center  for  eastern  products  to  all 
points  in  the  middle  west,  while  the  Mississippi  affords  communication  with 
the  entire  Mississippi  valley.  The  importance  of  railroads  has  already  been 
touched  upon.  As  a  result  of  these  facilities  and  because  of  her  great  natural 
resources,  Illinois  is  only  surpassed  by  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  in  the 
value  of  her  manufactured  products,  according  to  the  census  of  1900,  being 
one  billion  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  million  seven  hundred  and  thirty  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  dollars ;  an  increase  of  over  three  hundred 
per  cent  since  1880.  In  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  manufactures,  Illi- 
nois ranks  fourth  among  the  states,  with  an  investment  of  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-six  million  eight  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  dollars  in  contrast  with  one  hundred  and  forty  million  six  hundred 
and  fifty-two  thousand  and  sixty-six  dollars  invested  in  manufactures  in  1880. 
In  the  number  of  wage-earners  dependent  upon  manufacturers,  Illinois  ranks 
fourth  with  a  total  of  three  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  one  hundred  and 
ten  wage-earners,  to  whom  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  million  five  hnndred 
and  ten  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-two  dollars  was  ])aid  in  wages.  The 
cost  of  materials  used  was  seven  hundred  and  thirty-nine  million  seven  hundred 
and  fifty-four  thousand,  four  hundred  and  fourteen.  The  per  capita  production 
of  manufactured  goods  for  the  state  exceeded  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
in  1900. 

In  value  of  manufactured  goods  in  specific  industries,  Illinois  ranks  first 
among  the  states  in  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements,  bicycles  and 
tricycles,  steam  railroad  cars,  glucose,  distilled  li(iu()rs.  and  wnlchcs,  and  in  tlie 
products    of    its   slaughtering    and    meat    packing    establishments.        It    ranks 


44  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

second  in  the  manufacture  of  factory  furniture,  men's  clothing,  soaps,  and  in 
printing  and  publishing,  l)<)th  in  Ijooks  and  in  joh  work.  Forty-one  and  one- 
half  i)er  cent  of  all  the  agricultural  implements  of  the  country  are  manufactured 
in  the  ninety-four  plants  of  Illinois,  employing  twenty-two  thousand  three 
hundred  and  ninety-four  men.  The  importance  of  the  slaughtering  and  meat 
packing  industry  is  well  known.  There  are  sixty-four  plants  in  the  state, 
employing  twenty-seven  thousand  eight  hiuidred  and  sixty-one  men  and  turning 
out  products  to  the  value  of  t^vo  hundred  eight^'-seven  million  nine  huiulred 
twenty-two  thousand  two  hundred  seventy-seven  dollars.  It  is  this  industry 
in  addition  to  many  of  lesser  importance,  which  has  made  Chicago  the  second 
manufacturing  city  in  the  world. 

In  the  production  of  iron  and  steel,  Illinois  ranks  third,  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio  taking  the  lead.  There  are  twenty-six  plants  in  Illinois,  having  a  capital 
of  forty-three  million  three  hundred  fifty-six  thousand  two  hundred  thirty-nine 
dollars,  employing  sixteen  thousand  six  hundred  forty-two  men,  paying  in  wages 
nine  million  six  hundred  forty  thousand  seven  hundred  sixteen  dollars,  and 
turning  out  a  product  valued  at  sixty  million,  three  hundred  three  thousand  one 
hundred  forty -four  dollars.  Besides  these  larger  industries,  there  are  numerous 
carriage  and  wagon  factories,  ship-building  establishments,  locomotive  works, 
papermills,  flourmills,  canning  factories,  clothing  factories,  malt  liquor  estab- 
lishments, which  turned  out  products  to  the  value  of  nineteen  million  seven 
hundred  thirty-three  thousand  eight  hundred  twenty-one  dollars  in  1900, 
distilleries,  manufactories  for  chemicals,  finished  leather,  and  numerous  other 
products  whose  total  annual  value  exceeds  one  million  dollars. 

Because  of  its  significance,  the  printing  and  pul)lishing  industry  deserves 
separate  attention.  In  the  state  there  are  one  thousand  seven  hundred  fifty-five 
regular  publications,  having  an  aggregate  circulation  per  issue  of  ten  million 
four  hundred  twenty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  and  an 
average  circulation  per  issue  of  six  thousand  seven  hundred  thirty-seven. 

From  the  al)ove  brief  statistics  and  comparisons,  it  is  seen  that  Illinois  with 
fifty-six  thousand  scjuare  miles  of  territory  and  ahnost  fi\-e  million  inhabitants 
is  a  state  with  truly  imperial  resources.  Her  innnense  coal  fields  widely  dis- 
tributed, producing  thirty-seven  million  tons  each  xcar;  iiei-  twenty-thousand 
miles  of  railroad,  making  a  netwoi'k  of  ii-on  over  the  state;  her  rail  and  water 
couanuuication  with  tlie  east  and  the  whole  Mississippi  valley  afi'ording  unri\ale(l 
means  of  transportation ;  her  mow  than  twelve  hundred  banking  institutions, 
possessing  a  grand  total  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  capital  and 
surplus ;  her  twenty-seven  million  acres  of  improved  land  producing  an  anniuxl 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  45 

product  valued  at  three  hundred  fortj^-five  million  dollars;  her  thirty-eiglit 
thousand  manufacturing  establishments,  using  materials  valued  at  three-quarters 
of  a  billion  dollars  and  turning  out  a  product  valued  at  one  and  one-cpiarter 
billion  dollars;  all  these  resources  combine  to  give  Illinois  a  proud  position 
among  the  sisterhood  or  states. 


FORD  COUNTY. 

Within  a  short  time  after  the  organization  of  Illinois  territory,  two  counties 
St.  Clair  and  Randolph,  were  formed.  These  two  counties  have  been  gradually 
subdivided  until  now  there  are  one  hundred  and  two  comities  within  Ihe 
boundaries  of  this  state.  Ford  was  the  last  county  organized.  To  show 
whence  we  came  as  a  county,  the  following  letter  is  inserted: 

Springfield,  February  11,  1881. 
]\ferton  Dunlap,  Esq.,  Connty  Clerk,  Ford  County,  Paxton,  111. : 

Dear  Sir — Your  communication  of  the  8th  inst.  at  hand,  and  in  response 
thereto,  have  to  say  that  the  following  named  counties  comprised  the  state  of 
Illinois  in  the  year  1818,  to-wit : 

St.  Clair,  organized  April  28,  1809. 

Randolph,  organized  April  28,  1809. 

Madison,  organized  September  14,  1812. 

Gallatin,  organized  September  14,  1812. 

Johnson,  organized  September  14,  1812. 

Edwards,  organized  November  28,  1814. 

White,  organized  December  9,  1815. 

Jackson,  organized  January-  10,  1816. 

Pope,  organized  April  1,  1816. 

IMonroe,  organized  June  1,  1816. 

Crawford,  organized  December  31,  1816. 

Bond,  organized  January  4,  1817. 

Union,  organized  January  2,  1818. 

Washington,  organized  January  2,  1818. 

Franklin,  organized  January  2,  1818. 
Vermilion  county  was  organized  by  an  act  of  the  general  assembly,  ai)proved 
January  18,  1826,  and  embraced  all  that  tract  of  country  within  the  following 
bounds,  to-wit :  Beginning  on  the  state  line  between  Illinois  and  Indiana,  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Edgar  county;  thence  west  with  the  line  dividing  townships 
16  and  17,  to  the  southwest  corner  of  township  17  north,  range  10,  east  of  third 


46  HISTORY    OF   FORD   COUxXTY 

principal  meridian;  thence  north  to  the  northwest  corner  of  township  22  north; 
thence  east  to  the  state  line ;  thence  south  with  the  state  liue  to  the  place  of 
l)eginning. 

Vermilion  county  was  formed  out  of  territory  attached  to  Edgar  county  for 
county  purposes. 

Edgar  county  was  organized  January  3.  1828.  and  at  that  date  the  territory 
now  embraced  in  Vermilion  county  was  attached  to  the  county  of  Edgar. 

Clark  county  was  organized  March  22.  1819,  and  at  that  date  the  territory 
now  comprising  the  county  of  Vermilion  formed  part  of  Clark. 

Crawford  county  was  organized  December  31,  1816,  and  at  that  date  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  Vermilion  county  formed  part  of  Crawford. 

Edwards  county  was  organized  November  28,  1814,  and  at  that  date  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  Vermilion  county  formed  i)art  of  Edwards. 

St.  Clair  county  was  organized  April  28,  1809,  and  at  that  date  the  territory 
now  embraced  in  Vermilion  county  formed  part  of  St.  Clair. 

The  territory  attached  to  Vermilion  county  embraced  all  the  country  now 
occupied  by  Champaign,  Iroijuois  and  Ford  counties;  two  tiers  of  townships  on 
the  east  side  of  Livingston;  two-thirds  of  the  width  of  Grundy  county  south  of 
the  Kankakee,  and  nearly  one  and  one-half  congressional  townships  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  Will. 

Iroquois  county  was  formed  February  26,  1833. 
Champaign  county  was  formed  February  20,  1833. 
Livingston  county  was  formed  February  27,  1837. 
Grundy  county  was  formed  February  17,  1841. 
Will  county  was  formed  Januarj^  12,  1836. 
Ford  county  was  formed  February  17,  1859. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Henry  D.  Dement, 

Secretary  of  State. 
Although  Ford  was  the  last  county  of  the  state  organized,  she  is  not  tli(^ 
least  as  many  supjiose. 

In  population  Ford  county  numbered  as  follows:  1860,  1,979;  1870.  9.103; 
1880,  1.505;  1900.  18,259.  At  the  date  of  the  last  census  there  were  twenty-six 
counties  in  this  state  containing  a  less  iunnl)er  of  inhabitants  than  Ford. 

Forty-five  counties  have  a  smaller  acreage  than  this  county,  as  shown  by 
the  reports  of  the  State  Hoard  of  E((ualization. 

This  county  received  its  name  in  honor  of  Thomas  Ford,  the  eighth  governor 


HISTORY  OF   FORD    COUNTY  47 

of  Illinois  (if  the  adiiiinisti'ation  of  W.  L.  D.  Ewing,  covering  sixteen  days,  is 
to  be  counted  as  a  term,  otherwise  Governor  Ford's  would  be  the  seventh). 

Thomas  Ford  was  born  in  UniontoAvn,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1800. 
His  father  was  killed  by  the  Indians  when  Thomas  was  but  two  years  old.  In 
1804,  his  mother,  with  her  large  family  of  children,  removed  to  St.  Louis, 
IMissouri,  and  two  years  later  settled  in  IMonroe  county,  Illinois. 

This  mother  was  a  good  manager,  energetic,  and  determined  that  her  sons 
should  become  good  citizens.  Governor  Ford's  boyhood  was  mostly  spent  in 
earning  something  for  the  family  support,  attending  an  occasional  session  of 
the  county  school,  and  one  term  at  the  Trans^dvania  University.  He  then 
studied  law  with  Daniel  P.  Cook,  a  congressman,  and  soon  thereafter  com- 
manded a  remunerative  class  of  clients. 

In  1829,  he  was  appointed  prosecuting  attorney,  and  was  reappointed  in 
1831. 

Afterward  he  served  two  terms  as  circuit  judge,  one  term  as  .judge  of  the 
circuit  court  at  Chicago,  and  one  term  as  judge  of  the  supreme  court.  In  1837 
the  financial  panic  then  sweeping  over  the  country  visited  Illinois  with  the  most 
destructive  effect.  The  state  had  become  embarrassed  as  a  consequence  of 
loaning  her  credit  to  various  projects  of  internal  improvements,  notably  that  of 
building  railroads,  and  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  state  bank  and  branches. 
The  panic  came,  the  internal  improvement  plans  collapsed,  the  banks  failed,  the 
state  bonds  experienced  a  heavy  decline,  public  confidence  was  lost,  credit 
disappeared,  and  biLsiness  of  every  kind  was  completely  prostrated.  This 
unfortunate  condition  of  affairs  continued  for  a  period  of  several  years.  In 
1842,  Thomas  Ford  was  chosen  governor;  the  state  debt  then  amounted  to 
fourteen  million  dollars.  It  was  during  his  able  administration,  and  chiefly 
upon  his  recommendation,  that  a  series  of  wise  financial  measures  were  brought 
forward  in  legislature.  The  fallen  credit  of  the  commonwealth  was  restored, 
confidence  reestablished,  and  a  fresh  impetus  given  to  trade  and  agricultural 
enterprise. 

In  his  first  message,  he  says:  "We  must  convince  our  creditors  and  the 
world  that  the  disgrace  of  repudiation  is  not  countenanced  among  us,  that  we  are 
honest  and  mean  to  pay  as  soon  as  w^e  are  able. ' ' 

When  Governor  Ford  delivered  the  reins  of  government  to  his  successor,  in- 
stead of  a  domestic  debt  for  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  state  amounting  to 
almost  one-third  of  a  million  dollars,  we  find  it  reduced  to  thirty-one  thousand 
two  hundred  twelve  dollars,  with  nine  thousand  two  liuiidred  sixty  dollars  in 
the  treasury. 


48  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

Governor  Ford  in  his  personality  is  described  as  ' '  short  in  stature,  slender, 
dark  eomplexioned,  heavy  dark  hair,  deep  set  eyes,  sharp  nose  and  small  mouth. ' ' 

He  sa^'s  in  his  valedictory  message:  "Without  having  indulged  in  wasteful 
or  extravagant  habits  of  living,  I  retire  from  office  poorer  than  I  came  in,  and 
go  to  private  life  with  the  full  determination  not  to  seek  again  any  place  in  the 
government. ' ' 

He  died  at  Peoria  November  2,  1850,  in  very  indigent  circumstances. 


FORD   COUNTY   ORGANIZED. 

An  act  to  Create  the  County  of  Ford  and  for  Other  Purposes : 

Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  state  of  Illinois  represented 
in  the  general  assembly,  That  all  that  portion  of  Vermilion  county  lying  and  be- 
ing within  the  following  boundaries  and  described  as  follows,  to- wit: 

Beginning  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Champaign  county,  running  thence 
north  of  the  south  line  of  Iroquois  county,  thence  west  to  the  southwest  corner  of 
Iroquois  county,  thence  north  to  the  northwest  corner  of  Iroquois  county,  thence 
west  to  Livingston  county,  thence  south  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Livingston 
county,  thence  west  to  McLean  county,  thence  south  to  the  northwest  corner  of 
Champaign  county,  thence  east  to  the  place  of  beginning,  be  and  the  same  is 
hereby  created  into  a  new  county,  to  be  called  the  county  of  Ford :  Provided 
that  a  majority  of  all  the- legal  voters  of  said  county  of  Vermilion  voting  on  the 
(Question  shall  vote  for  said  new  county,  at  an  election  to  be  held  in  manner 
hereinafter  provided. 

Sec  2.  The  qualified  voters  of  said  county  of  Vermilion  may  at  a  special 
election  to  be  held  in  the  several  towns  in  said  county  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
April  next,  vote  for  or  against  the  creation  of  said  new  county  of  Ford  by  ballot 
upon  which  shall  be  written  or  printed  or  partly  written  and  partly  printinl  1h(^ 
words,  "For  the  new  county,"  or  "Against  the  new  county." 

Sec.  3.  The  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  said  county  of  Vermilion  shall  give 
notice  of  said  election  in  the  several  election  districts  of  said  county  in  the  same 
manner  as  notice  of  general  or  especial  elections  are  given  in  counties  which  have 
not  adopted  township  organization  as  nearly  as  may  be,  and  the  judges  and 
clerks  of  election  in  the  several  election  districts  of  said  county  shall  keep  a  list 
of  the  voters  polled  at  said  election,  and  conduct  the  same  in  all  respects  and 
make  return  thereof  to  the  clerk  of  the  county  court  in  the  same  manner  as  is 
provided  by  law  for  general  elections.    All  vacancies  in  the  bt)ar(l  of  election  shall 


/goo 


THE  Or.D  COURT  HOUSE,  PAXTON 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  51 

be  filled  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  by  law  in  other  cases.  The  clerk  of 
said  county  court  shall  within  seven  days  after  said  election,  or  as  soon  there- 
after as  said  returns  shall  be  received,  proceed  to  canvass  the  returns  of  said 
election  in  the  same  manner  as  in  general  elections,  and  shall  within  five  days 
thereafter  make  return  of  said  vote  to  the  secretary  of  state. 

Sec.  4.  If  it  shall  appear  that  a  majority  of  all  the  voters  in  said  county 
of  Vermilion  voting  upon  the  question,  have  voted  in  favor  of  the  creation  of 
said  new  county  of  Ford,  then  there  shall  be  held  a  special  election  in  the  several 
towns  and  precincts  within  the  limits  of  this  act  described  for  said  new  county 
of  Ford,  on  the  first  Monday  in  June  next  for  county  officers.  In  case  of  frac- 
tional towns  or  precincts  which  have  become  detached  by  the  boundaries  of  the 
said  new  county  the  voters  thereof  may  at  the  first  election  for  county  officers 
vote  within  such  town  or  precinct  within  said  new  county  as  they  deem  most 
convenient.  The  said  election  to  be  conducted  by  the  judges  of  election  then 
in  office  under  appointment  or  election  in  said  county  of  Vermilion,  and  to  be 

held  at  the  place  of  holding  the  last  general  election.  In  case  of  vacancy  in  the 
board  of  election,  or  non-attendance,  said  vacancy  or  place  of  any  absentee  shall 

be  filled  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  by  law  in  other  cases  of  election.  At 
which  election  the  qualified  voters  of  said  county  of  Ford  shall  elect  all  county 
officers  for  said  county  except  such  as  hereinafter  are  excepted  who  shall  be  com- 
missioned and  ciualified  in  the  same  manner  as  such  officers  are  in  other  counties 
in  this  state,  and  who  shall  continue  in  office  until  the  next  general  election  for 
such  officers  and  until  their  successors  are  elected  and  cpialificd,  and  who  shall 
have  all  the  jurisdiction  and  perform  all  the  duties  which  are  or  may  be  con- 
ferred upon  such  officers  in  other  counties  of  this  state. 

Sec.  5.  All  the  justices  of  the  peace,  constables  or  other  town  or  precinct 
officers  who  have  been  heretofore  elected  and  qualified  in  said  county  of  Ver- 
milion whose  term  of  office  shall  not  have  expired  at  the  time  of  said  election 
and  whose  residence  shall  be  embraced  within  the  limits  of  said  county  of 
Ford  shall  continue  in  office  until  their  term  of  office  shall  expire,  and  until 
their  successors  shall  be  elected  and  qualified. 

Sec.  6.  For  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  permanent  location  of  the  county 
seat  of  said  county  of  Ford,  the  voters  of  said  county  shall  at  said  election  for 
county  officers  vote  for  some  place  to  be  designated  upon  their  ballots  for  a 
county  seat,  upon  which  ballots  shall  be  written  or  printed,  or  partly  written 

and  partly  printed,  "For  county  seat "  after  which  words  shall  be 

written  or  printed  the  name  of  the  place  intended  for  the  county  seat.  The 
place  receiving  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  upon  the  question  shall  be  the 


LIBRARY  "^"-^ — ■ 
University  of  u' 


52  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

county  seat  of  said  county  of  Ford,  but  if  no  one  place  sliall  receive  a  majority 
of  all  the  votes  cast  upon  the  question,  then  it  shall  be  the  dut}'  of  the  t-ounty 
court  of  said  county  to  call  another  election  within  thirty  days  thereafter  at 
the  several  places  of  holding  elections  in  said  county,  at  whirh  election  the  vot- 
ers of  said  county  shall  proceed  to  vote  as  before,  but  shall  choose  from  the 
two  places  having  the  greater  inimber  of  votes  at  the  former  election,  and  the 
place  having  the  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  at  the  second  election  shall  be 
the  permanent  county  seat  of  said  county  of  Ford. 

Sec.  7.  The  notice  of  said  election  for  county  officers  shall  be  given  hy  the 
clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Vermilion  county  in  the  same  manner  as  in  cases 
of  general  elections;  said  notice  shall  specify  that  a  vote  will  be  taken  upon 
the  location  of  the  county  seat.  The  returns  of  said  election  for  county  offi- 
cers shall  be  made  to  the  clerk  of  said  court,  who  shall  cause  the  same  to  be 
opened  and  canvassed  and  returns  thereof  made  in  the  same  manner  as  is  pro- 
vided by  law  in  other  cases. 

Sec.  8.  All  suits  and  prosecutions  that  have  been  or  may  be  commenced 
in  said  county  of  Vermilion,  including  all  the  proceedings  in  the  county  court, 
in  matters  of  probate  before  the  organization  of  said  county  of  Ford,  shall  not 
be  affected  by  this  act  or  the  operation  thereof,  l)ut  all  such  suits,  prosecutions 
and  proceedings  shall  be  prosecuted,  and  conducted  to  their  final  termination 
in  said  county  of  Vermilion,  and  the  officers  of  said  county  are  hereby  author- 
ized to  execute  all  writs  that  may  be  necessary  for  the  completion  of  said  suits, 
prosecutions  or  proceedings  within  the  limits  of  said  county  of  Ford,  and  all 
judgments  that  may  have  heretofore  been  obtained,  or  that  may  hereafter  be 
obtained  in  said  county  of  Vermilion  before  the  organization  of  said  county  of 
Ford,  shall  have  the  same  lien  upon  all  property  within  the  limits  of  said 
county  of  Ford  as  if  the  said  territory  had  not  been  created  into  a  separate 
county. 

Sec.  9.  As  soon  as  the  county  officers  shall  have  been  elected  and  (pialified 
as  aforesaid,  the  said  county  of  Ford  shall  be  considered  organized.  The  oath 
of  office  may  be  administered  to  the  several  country  officers  by  any  person  within 
the  limits  of  the  new  county  authorized  by  law  to  administer  oaths,  and  as  soon 
as  said  county  is  organized,  the  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  shall  give  notice 
thereof  to  the  judge  of  the  circuit  in  which  said  county  may  be  embraced,  who 
shall  thereupon  hold  court  at  such  place  in  said  county  of  Ford  as  the  county 
court  thereof  shall  designate  until  the  county  seat  of  said  county  shall  become 
permanently  located  as  heretofore  provided,  which  court  shall  be  holden  at 
such  times  as  the  judge  of  said  circuit  shall  appoint  until  otherwise  provided 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  53 

by  law,  the  said  eoiint.y  of  Ford  shall  be  taken  and  considered  as  a  part  of  the 
eighth  judicial  circuit. 

Sec.  10.  The  school  funds,  if  any,  in  the  hands  of  the  school  commission- 
ers of  Vermilion  county  belonging  to  the  several  towns  or  parts  of  towns 
embraced  within  the  limits  of  said  county  of  Ford,  shall  be  by  said  commis- 
sioners paid  over  to  the  school  commissioner  of  said  county  of  Ford,  so  soon 
as  he  shall  have  given  bond  and  been  qualified  on  demand-  made. 

Sec.  11.  The  county  court  of  said  county  of  Ford  shall  at  some  term  of 
said  court,  by  an  order  to  be  entered  upon  their  records,  appoint  some  compe- 
tent i^erson  a  commissioner  for  the  purpose  hereinafter  expressed,  who  shall 
take  an  oath  of  office  before  some  officer  of  said  county  authorized  by  law  to 
administer  oaths,  said  court  shall  at  the  same  time  provide  a  sufficient  number 
of  well  bound  blank  books,  and  deliver  the  same  to  said  commissioner,  who 
shall  receipt  the  same  to  the  clerk  of  said  court,  and  as  soon  as  the  same  shall 
be  delivered  to  said  commissioners  he  shall  record  in  each  book  a  copy  of  the 

order  of  appointment  and  oath  of  office,  and  shall  thereupon  proceed  to  trans- 
cribe into  such  books  all  deeds,  mortgages  and  title  papers  of  every  descrip- 
tion, with  the  acknowledgments  and  certificates  in  relation  thereto,  of  lands 
lying  in  the  said  county  of  Ford,  which  have  been  recorded,  or  may  hereafter 
be  recorded,  before  the  organization  of  said  county,  in  the  recorder's  office  of 
said  county  of  Vermilion.  Such  commissioner  shall  be  allowed  by  said  county 
court  such  sums  as  his  services  shall  be  worth,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  county 
treasury.  Said  commissioner  shall  note  at  the  end  of  each  paper  he  shall 
transcribe,  the  book  and  page  from  which  the  same  was  transcribed,  and  shall 
make  a  correct  double  index  of  said  records,  and  on  the  completion  of  his 
duties,  said  commissioner  shall  return  said  books  to  the  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court  of  the  said  county  of  Ford,  whereupon  they  shall  be  taken  and  considered 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  books  of  records  of  deeds,  mortgages  and  title 
papers  for  said  county  of  Ford,  and  copies  of  said  records  certified  by  the  offi- 
cer having  custody  of  the  same  shall  be  evidenced  in  all  courts  and  places  in 
the  same  manner  that  deeds  and  title  papers  regularly  recorded  in  the  record- 
er's office,  an  evidence  and  with  the  same  effect. 

Sec.  12.  Of  the  swamp  lands  lying  within  the  present  limits  of  Vermilion 
county  and  of  the  proceeds  of  sales  of  said  lands  heretofore  made,  and  which 
may  hereafter  be  made  before  the  organization  of  said  county  of  Ford,  after 
deducting  all  expenses  paid  by,  and  for  which  the  said  county  of  Vermilion 
may  be  liable.  The  said  county  of  Ford  shall  receive  and  be  entitled  to  a 
share  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  congressional  townships   and  parts   of 


54  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

townships  lying  within  the  boundaries  of  said  county  of  Ford,  and  the  share 
of  said  county  of  Yennilion  to  said  hinds  and  proceeds  of  sales  thereof  as 
aforesaid,  shall  be  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  congressional  townships  and 
parts  of  townships  remaining  within  the  limits  of  said  county  of  Vermilion 
after  said  county  of  Ford  shall  have  been  organized. 

Sec.   13.     The  secretary  of  state  shall  forthwith  furnish  to  the  clerk  of 
the  county  court  of  Vermilion  county  a  certified  copy  of  this  act. 

Sec.   14.     This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its 
passage. 

William   R.   INIorrison, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
John  Wood, 

Speaker  of  the  Senate. 
Approved  February  17,  1859, 

William  H.  Bissell. 


United  States  of  America, 
State  of  Illinois. 


ss. 


Office  of  Secretary. 

I,  Henry  D.  Dement,  secretary  of  state  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  do  hereby 
certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  an  act  to  create  the  county  of 
Ford  and  for  other  purposes  now  on  file  in  this  office. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  hereto  set  my  hand  and  affix  the  great  seal  of  state 
(L.  S.)  at  the  city  of  Springfield,  this  11th  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1883. 

Henry  D.  Dement, 

Secretary  of  State. 

Agreeably  to  tlie  fourth  section  of  the  foregoing  act,  an  election  w^as  held 
on  the  first  Monday  in  June,  1859,  in  the  new  county  of  Ford,  for  county  offi- 
cers. At  the  same  time,  in  accordance  with  the  sixth  section,  the  location  of 
the  county  seat  was  determined  by  the  selection  of  Paxton,  the  name  of  the 
town  at  that  time  being  Prospect  City. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  county  officers,  from  the  first  election,  until 
the  present  time : 

COUNTY  GOVERNMENT. 

An  act  for  establishing  county  courts,  approved  February  12,  1849,  and 
in  force  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  Ford  county,  provided  for  the  elec- 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  55 

tioii  of  a  county  .I'ncl^'e.  Also,  that  at  the  same  time,  "there  shall  be  elected 
two  justices  of  the  peac(\  wliose  jurisdiction  shall  be  coextensive  with  the 
county,  and  Avho  shall  hold  llicir  officers  for  four  years."  They  were  to  give 
bond,  and  have  the  same  powers  as  township  justices  and  "moreover,  sit  with 
the  county  judge,  as  meml)ers  of  the  court  for  the  transaction  of  the  county 
business,  and  none  other,  and  while  sitting  as  members  of  the  court  shall  have 
an  c({ual  vote  with  the  comity  judge  on  all  (piestions  and  matters  legally  and 
properly  before  said  ccmrt.  The  said  judge  wnth  said  two  justices  shall  in 
all  cases  whatever,  have,  exercise  and  possess  all  the  power,  jurisdiction  and 
authority  heretofore  conferred  on  the  county  commissioners  court."  To  dis- 
tinguish these  county  justices  from  those  of  the  several  townships  they  were 
termed  associate  justices.  In  probate  and  certain  other  matters,  the  county 
judge  acted  alone. 

It  is  our  purpose  to  give  a  list  of  the  members  of  this  court  followed  by 
a  list  of  the  township  supervisors,  dating  from  the  adoption  of  township  organ- 
ization by  this  county.  These  supervisors,  when  met  for  county  business, 
compose  what  is  termed  the  board  of  supervisors,  which  takes  the  place  of  the 
county  court,  consisting  of  the  county  judge  and  associate  justices. 

The  records  of  Vermilion  county  show^  that  that  portion  which  now  com- 
prises Ford  county  was  organized  as  a  township  February  16,  1856,  from  IMid- 
dlefork  township  and  named  Prairie  City  township.  Its  name  was  changed 
to  "Patton"  September  15,  1857,  on  account  of  there  being  another  Praire 
City  township  in  the  state. 

Drummer  Grove  township  was  organized  from  Patton,  September  14,  1858, 
and  included  the  present  townships  of  Drummer,  Dix,  Peach  Orchard  and  Sul- 
livant.  Stockton  township  was  organized  from  Patton,  March  15,  1859,  and 
included  the  present  townships  of  Lyman,  Brenton,  Pella,  Mona  and  Rogers. 
Therefore,  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  Ford  countv,  it  consisted  of  three 
townships,  viz. :  Patton,  Drummer  Grove  and  Stockton,  the  former  at  that 
time  including  the  present  townships  of  Patton,  Button  and  Wall.  The  first 
court  after  the  election  in  June,  1859,  for  the  transaction  of  county  business, 
was  held  by  David  Patton,  county  judge;  William  Swinford  and  Andrew  J. 
Bartlett,  associate  justices. 

April  3,  1860,  Edmund  F.  Havens  was  elected  associate  justice  in  place 
of  Andrew  J.  Bartlett,  removed  from  the  county. 

November  6,  1860,  township  organization  was  adopted  by  the  following 
vote:       For,  two  hundred  and  sixty-five;  against,  seventy-six. 


56 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 


BOARD    OF    SUPERVISORS. 


1861 — James  P.  Button,  Patton  township;  Andrew  Jordan,  Drummer's 
Grove;  and  George  B.  Winter,  Stockton. 

1862 — Jame.s  P.  Button,  Patton;  Andrew  Jordan,  Drummer's  Grove;  Mark 
Parsons,   Stockton. 

1863 — William  Noel,  Patton;  William  Snider,  Drummer's  Grove;  ]\Iark 
Parsons,  Stockton. 

September  14,  1863 — The  township  of  Grant  was  organized  Avliich  com- 
prised the  present  townships  of  IMona  and  Rogers. 

March  7,  1864 — The  name  of  Grant  was  changed  to  Rogers,  and  Stockton 
at  this  time,  comprising  the  present  townships  of  Lyman,  Brenton  and  Bella, 
was  changed  to  Brenton. 

1864 — William  Noel,  Patton;  William  Snider,  Drummer's  Grove;  IMark 
Parsons,  Brenton ;  J.  W.  Rogers,  Rogers. 

September  12,  1864 — Name  of  Drummer's  Grove  township  changed  to  Dix. 

December  13,  1864 — E.  M.  Blackford  took  his  seat  as  supervisor  in  place 
of  William  Snider,  elected  sheriff. 

At  this  meeting  the  present  township  of  Button  was  organized. 

1865 — James  P.  Button,  Button ;  William  Noel,  Patton ;  J.  W.  Rogers, 
Rogers ;  George  B.  Winter,  Brenton ;  J.  E.  Davis,  Dix. 

August  31,  1865 — John  J.  Simons  appointed  county  clerk,  pro  tempore, 
vice  Nathan  Simons,  deceased. 

December  4,  1865 — William  Walker  took  his  seat  as  supervisor  in  place 
of  James  P.  Button,  elected  county  treasurer. 

1867— J.  P.  Middlecotf,  Patton;  J.  II.  Kendall,  Dix;  J.  IT.  Flagg,  But- 
ton; D.  B.  Case,  Rogers;  S.  E.  Burt,  Brenton. 

June  12,  1867 — The  present  township  of  Wall  was  organized 

September  9,  1867 — Tlu;  present  township  of  Lyman  was  organized. 

September  10,  1867 — Tlie  present  township  of  Sullivant  Avas  organized. 

1867— W.  TI.  H.  Wood,  Patton;  J.  II.  Flagg,  Buttcm ;  M.  L.  Sullivant,  Sul- 
livant; Samuel  Woodward,  Lyman;  J.  E.  Davis,  Dix;  Edward  Clayton,  Rog- 
ers; William  Liggett,  Wall;  L.  T.  Bishop,  Brenton. 

September  15,  1868 — The  present  township  of  Peach  Orchard  was 
organized. 

March  1,  1869 — The  present  townsliip  of  Drununer  was  organized  and 
called  Drummer's  Grove. 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  57 

1869— M.  L.  Sullivant,  Sullivant;  J.  H.  Flagg,  Button;  L.  T.  Bishop,  Bren- 
toii ;  D.  B.  Case,  Rogers;  Caleb  McKeever,  Drummer's  Grove;  R.  S.  Chamber- 
lin,  Dix;  A.  M.  Haling,  Lyman;  John  Kelley,  Patton;  William  Noel,  Wall; 
James  Dixon,  Peach  Orchard. 

]\Iarch  2,  1870 — The  present  township  of  Pella  was  organized  and  called 
Clyde. 

Also  present  township  of  ]\Iona  organized  and  called  Delhi. 

The  name  of  Drummer's  Grove  township  was  changed  to  that  of  Drummer. 

1870— David  Keighin,  Delhi ;  J.  D.  Kilgore,  Wall ;  C.  E.  Henderson,  Pat- 
ton;  B.  H.  McClure,  Drummer;  R.  S.  Chamberlin,  Dix;  P.  S.  Gose,  Lyman; 
L.  T.  Bishop,  Brenton;  J.  H.  Flagg,  Button;  D.  B.  Case,  Rogers;  W.  B. 
Holmes,  Peach  Orchard ;  J.  S.  Ruff,  Clyde ;  M.  L.  Sullivant,  Sullivant. 

June  16,  1870 — Name  of  Delhi  township  changed  to  Mona,  and  name  of 
Clyde  township  changed  to  Pella. 

1871 — W.  L.  Conrow,  Brenton;  P.  S.  Gose,  Lyman;  D.  B.  Case,  Rogers; 
David  Keighin,  IMona;  R.  S.  Chamberlin,  Dix;  B.  H.  McClure,  Drummer; 
William  Noel,  Wall;  C.  E.  Henderson,  Patton;  J.  H.  Flagg,  Button;  M.  L. 
Sullivant,  Sullivant ;  J.  S.  Ruff,  Pella ;  T.  D.  Thompson,  Peach  Orchard. 

December  12,  1871 — M.  M.  Pulver  took  his  seat  as  supervisor  in  place  of 
W.  L.  Conrow,  appointed  county  superintendent  of  schools. 

1872— J.  P.  Micldlecoff,  Patton;  William  Walker,  Button;  James  Sheldon, 
Pella;  David  Keighin,  IMona;  Thomas  Winstanley,  Rogers;  M.  L.  Sullivant, 
Sullivant;  M.  M.  Pulver,  Brenton;  0.  D.  Sackett,  Lyman;  Levi  Miller,  Wall; 
R.  S.  Chamberlin,  Dix ;  J.  M.  Sudduth,  Drummer ;  Thomas  F.  Kingsley,  Peach 
Orchard. 

March  11,  1873 — Albert  Keith  took  his  seat  as  supervisor  in  place  of  J. 
P.  IMiddlecoff,  elected  to  the  general  assembly. 

1873 — 0.  D.  Sackett,  Chairman,  Lyman;  Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  David 
Keighin,  Mona;  Robert  Wells,  Pella;  Hugh  P.  Beach,  Brenton;  Thomas  F. 
Kingsley,  Peach  Orchard;  John  H.  Collier,  Drummer;  Edward  Babcock,  Wall; 
Benjamin  Ferris,  Patton;  R.  N.  Gorsuch,  Button;  M.  L.  Sullivant,  Sullivant; 
J.  I.  Robinson,  Dix. 

December  16,  1873— W.  T.  Morrison  took  his  seat  in  place  of  R.  N.  Gor- 
such, elected  county  superintendent  of  schools.  N.  M.  Ward  took  his  seat  in 
place  of  H.  P.  Beach,  elected  county  judge. 

1874 — J.  I.  Robinson,  chairman,  Dix;  Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  Monroe 
Bute,  Mona;  L.  T.  Bishop,  Brenton;  H.  B.  Ferguson,  Lyman;  Thomas  F. 
Kingsley,  Peach  Orchard;  M.   L.   Sullivant,   Sullivant;  William  Noel,   Wall; 


58  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

John  H.  Collier,  Drummer;  John  M.  Hall.  Patton;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button; 
James  Sheldon,  Pella. 

John  Keesey  was  elected  assistant  supervisor  for  Patton  township,  it  being 
the  opinion  that  this  townshij)  had  the  population  entitling  it  to  two 
supervisors. 

March  9,  1875— J.  JM.  Thompson  took  his  seat,  in  place  of  T.  F.  Kingsley, 
resigned. 

1875 — John  H.  Collier,  Chairman,  Drummer;  John  Richardson,  Dix;  J. 
C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button;  William  Kenward.  Wall;  J.  A.  IMontelius,  Brenton; 
James  Sheldon,  Pella;  A.  V.  Bureham,  Lyman;  J.  M.  Hall  and  J.  T.  Miller, 
Patton;  Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  Monroe  Bute,  Mona;  W.  B.  Holmes,  Peach 
Orchard;  M.  L.  Sullivant,  Sullivant. 

1876 — John  H.  Collier,  chairman.  Drummer;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton; 
Alonzo  Burr,  Sullivant;  John  ]\I.  Hall  and  John  W.  Swanson,  Patton;  John 
S.  Hewins,  Button;  W.  B.  Holmes,  Peach  Orchard;  AVilliam  Kenward,  Wall; 
James  Ogilvie,  Rogers ;  John  Richardson,  Dix ;  James  Sheldon,  Pella ;  Joseph 
Hurst,  Lyman ;  ]\Ionroe  Bute,  Mona. 

March  13,  1877 — Samuel  J.  LeFevre  took  his  seat  as  supervisor,  in  place 
of  J.  H.  Collier,  elected  to  the  general  assembly.  James  Sheldon  was  elected 
chairman. 

1877 — J.  P.  Middlecoff,  chairman,  Patton ;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton ;  C.  'M. 
Blowers,  Pella;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman;  W.  B.  Holmes,  Peach  Orchard;  J.  C. 
Kirkpatrick,  Button ;  David  Keighin,  Mona ;  J.  F.  Kenney,  Wall ;  S.  J.  LeFevre, 
Drummer;  James  Ogilvie,  Rogers;  John  Richardson,  Dix;  ]M.  L.  Sullivant,  Sul- 
livant; J.  W.  Swanson,  Patton. 

1878 — J.  P.  Middlecoff,  chairman,  Patton;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  C.  ]\I. 
Blowers,  Pella;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman;  J.  A.  Froyd, 
Patton;  John  S.  Hunt,  Peach  Orchard;  David  Keighin,  Mona;  J.  F.  Kenney, 
Wall;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button;  S.  J.  LeFevre,  Drummer;  James  Ogilvie, 
Rogers;  S.  W.  Wade,  Dix. 

1879 — S.  J.  LeFevre,  chairman.  Drummer ;  Edward  Babcock,  Wall ;  Joseph 
Burger,  Brenton;  C.  M.  Blowers,  Pella;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant;  J.  Y.  Camp- 
bell, Patton ;  J.  A.  Froyd,  Patton ;  Joseph  Hurst,  Lyman ;  John  S.  Hunt,  Peach 
Orchard ;  David  Keighin,  Mona ;  James  Ogilvie,  Rogers ;  W.  T.  Patton,  Button ; 
John  Richardson,  Dix. 

July  14,  1879 — The  board  decided  that  under  the  census  of  1870,  as  pro- 
vided by  law,  Patton  township  was  entitled  to  but  one  supervisor.  Accord- 
ingly Mr.  Froyd  withdrew. 


SHERIFF'S    RESIDENCE   AND   JAIL,    PAXTOX 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  61 

1880 — S.  J.  LeFevre,  chairman,  Drnmmer;  W.  A.  Bickct,  Sullivant;  J.  Y. 
Campbell,  Patton ;  Joseph  Hurst,  Lyman;  J.  F.  Kenney,  Wall;  Hugh  McCor- 
mick,  Button;  J.  IMathis,  Peach  Orchard;  J.  S.  IMcElhiney,  Brenton ;  James 
Ogilvie,  Rogers;  John  Richardson,  Dix;  John  A.  Scott,  IMona ;  T.  J.  Sowers, 
Pella. 

1881— W.  A.  Bicket,  chairman,  Sullivant;  C.  M.  Blowers,  Pella;  Joseph 
Burger,  Brenton;  Abraham  Croft,  Patton;  Joseph  Hurst,  Lyman;  John  lehl, 
Peach  Orchard;  H.  McCormick,  Button;  John  Richardson,  Dix;  John  A.  Scott, 
Mona;  J.  H.  Snelling,  "Wall;  W.  B.  Sargeant.  Rogers;  C.  H.  Yeomans. 
Drummer. 

1882 — Joseph  Burger,  chairman,  Brenton;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant;  A.  C. 
Bullington,  Dix;  L.  Burns,  Lyman;  Abraham  Croft,  Patton;  George  Eastwood, 
Pella;  John  lehl,  Peach  Orchard;  William  Kenney,  Wall;  Hugh  McCormick, 
Button ;  W.  B.  Sargeant,  Rogers ;  John  A.  Scott,  Mona ;  Charles  H.  Yeomans, 
Drummer. 

March,  1883 — Thomas  Correll  took  his  seat,  in  place  of  George  Eastwood, 
removed  from  the  county. 

1883 — Charles  H.  Yeomans,  chairman.  Drummer;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sulli- 
vant; A.  C.  Bullington,  Dix;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  L.  Burns,  Lyman;  N.  B. 
Day,  Patton ;  John  lehl.  Peach  Orchard ;  William  Kenney,  Wall ;  Thomas 
]\IcDermott,  Pella;  Hugh  McCormick,  Button;  W.  B.  Sargeant,  Rogers;  John 
A.  Scott,  Mona. 

1884— W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant;  A.  C.  Bullington,  Dix;  Joseph  Burger, 
Brenton;  N.  B.  Day,  Patton;  John  lehl.  Peach  Orchard;  James  C.  Kirkpatrick, 
Button ;  William  Kenne.y,  Wall ;  Byron  Lisk,  Lyman ;  Thomas  McDermott, 
Pella;  W.  B.  Sargeant,  Rogers;  John  A.  Scott,  Mona;  W.  H.  Simms,  Drummer. 

1885 — W.  B.  Sargeant,  Rogers;  P.  J.  Gerhart,  JMona;  Thomas  McDermott, 
Pella ;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton ;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman ;  William  Kenney,  Wall ; 
W.  S.  Larkin,  Peach  Orchard ;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant ;  W.  H.  Simms,  Drum- 
mer; J.  H.  Leonard,  Dix;  N.  B.  Day,  Patton;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button. 

1886 — W.  B.  Sargeant,  Rogers;  Henry  Benson,  INIona;  Thomas  McDermott, 
Pella;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  Byron  Lisk,  Lyman;  William  Kenney,  Wall; 
John  lehl,  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant;  F.  C.  IMcDowell,  Drum- 
mer; S.  W.  Wade,  Dix;  N.  B.  Day,  Patton;  W.  T.  IMorrison,  Button. 

1887 — W.  B.  Sargeant,  Rogers;  Henry  Benson,  IMona ;  Thomas  McDermott, 
Pella;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  Byron  Lisk,  Lyman;  William  Kenney,  Wall; 
John  lehl.  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Bicket,  Sullivant;  F.  C.  IMcDowell,  Drum- 
mer ;  A.  T.  Gullett,  Dix ;  N.  B.  Day,  Patton ;  W.  T.  Morrison,  Button. 


62  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

1888 — W.  B.  Sargeant.  Rogers;  Henry  Benson.  ]\Iona  ;  Thomas  IMeDermott, 
Bella ;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton ;  E.  0.  Newman,  Lyman ;  William  Kenney, 
Wall;  John  lehl,  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Bieket,  Sullivant;  F.  C.  McDowell, 
Drummer;  INI.  W.  Peterson,  Dix;  J.  W.  Ramsay,  Patton;  W.  T.  IMorrison, 
Button. 

1889 — P.  Whalen,  Rogers;  John  A.  Scott,  Mona;  Thomas  LIcDermott, 
Pella;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman;  J.  F.  Kenney,  Wall; 
John  lehl,  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Picket,  Sullivant;  John  F.  White,  Drummer; 
J.  H.  Leonard,  Dix;  J.  W.  Ramsay,  Patton;  W.  T.  Morrison,  Button. 

1890 — Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  John  A.  Scott,  Mona;  Thomas  IMcDermott, 
Pella;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman;  J.  F.  Kenney,  Wall; 
John  lehl.  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Picket,  Sullivant;  Charles  S.  Crary,  Drum- 
mer; J.  E.  Hagin,  Dix;  J.  W.  Ramsay,  Patton;  W.  T.  Morrison,  Button. 

1891— W.  F.  Hoyt,  Rogers;  John  A.  Scott,  Mona;  Thomas  McDermott, 
Pella;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman;  J.  F.  Kenney,  Wall; 
John  lehl.  Peach  Orchard;  W,  A.  Picket,  Sullivant;  Charles  S.  Crary,  Drum- 
mer; J.  E.  Hagin,  Dix;  J.  W.  Ramsay,  Patton;  W.  T.  Morrison,  Button. 

1892 — Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  Winfried  Scott,  Mona;  Thomas  McDer- 
mott, Pella ;  Joseph  Burger,  Brenton ;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman ;  J.  F.  Kenney, 
Wall;  John  lehl.  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Picket,  Sullivant;  Tim  Ross,  Drum- 
mer; P.  J.  Yeager,  Dix;  J.  W.  Ramsay,  Patton;  W.  T.  Morrison,  Button. 

1893 — Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  Winfried  Scott,  Mona,  Thomas  McDer- 
mott, Pella;  John  Rohrback,  Brenton;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman-  J.  F.  Kenney, 
AVall;  Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Picket,  Sullivant;  Tim  Ross, 
Drummer;  P.  J.  Yeager,  Dix;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton;  W.  T.  IMorrison, 
Putton. 

1894 — Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  Winfried  Scott,  Mona;  T.  J.  Sowers,  Pella; 
John  Rohrback,  Brenton ;  W.  B.  Flora,  Lyman ;  James  H.  Andrews,  Wall ; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard ;  W.  A.  Picket,  Sullivant ;  Tim  Ross,  Drum- 
mer ;  Thomas  Crowe,  Dix ;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton ;  W.  T.  Morrison,  Button. 

1895 — Samuel  Clayton,  Rogers;  Winfried  Scott;  Mona;  T.  J.  Sowers, 
Pella ;  John  A.  Montelius,  Brenton ;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman ;  James  H.  Andrews, 
Wall;  Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  W.  A.  Picket,  Sullivant;  Tim  Ross, 
Dnmnner;  Thomas  Crowe,  Dix;  A.  L.  Laurence,  Patton;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick, 
Button. 

1896 — Sanuicl  Clayton,  Rogers;  Wijifriod  Scott,  Mona;  T.  J.  Sowers,  Pella; 
John  A.  Montelius,  Brenton ;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman ;  James  H.  Andrews,  Wall ; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  Swen  Anderson,  Sullivant;  Tim  Ross,  Dnun- 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  63 

raer;  Thomas  Crowe,  Dix ;  A.  L.  Laurence,  Pattoii ;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button. 

1897— William  Iloyt,  Rogers;  Winfried  Scott,  Mona;  T.  J.  Sowers,  Pell  a ; 
John  A.  Montelius,  Brenton ;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman ;  James  IT.  Andrews,  Wall ; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  Swen  Anderson,  Snllivant;  Tim  Ross,  Drum- 
mer; Thomas  Crowe,  Dix;  A.  L.  Laurence,  Patton ;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button. 

1898 — James  Ogilvie,  Rogers ;  Winfried  Scott,  Mona ;  T.  D.  Hevener,  Pella  ; 

John  A.  IMontelius,  Brenton ;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman ;  James  II.  Andrews,  Wall ; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard ;  Swen  Anderson,  Snllivant ;  Tim  Ross,  Drum- 
mer, Thomas  Crowe,  Dix;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button. 

1899— James  Ogilvie,  Rogers ;  Winfried  Scott,  ]\Iona  ;  T.  D.  Hevener,  Pella ; 
John  C.  Culbertson,  Brenton;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman;  William  E.  Kenney,  Wall; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  0.  A.  Lundelof,  Snllivant;  Tim  Ross,  Drum- 
mer, Thomas  Crowe,  Dix ;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton ;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Button. 

1900 — James  Ogilvie,  Rogers;  Winfried  Scott,  IMona;  T.  D.  Hevener, 
Pella ;  John  C.  Culbertson,  Brenton ;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman ;  J.  W.  Gilkerson, 
Wall ;  Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard ;  O.  A.  Lundelof,  Snllivant ;  Tim  Ross, 
Drummer ;  Thomas  Crowe,  Dix ;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton ;  J.  C.  Kirkpatrick, 
Button. 

1901 — James  Ogilvie,  Rogers ;  Winfried  Scott,  Mona ;  T.  D.  Hevener,  Pella ; 
John  C.  Culbertson,  Brenton ;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman ;  J.  W.  Gilkerson,  Wall ; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  0.  A.  Lundelof,  Snllivant;  Tim  Ross,  Drum- 
mer, Thomas  Crowe,  Dix ;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton ;  R.  C.  Parks,  Button. 

1902 — Henry  Raab,  Rogers;  Thomas  Kewly,  ]\Iona;  J.  P.  Glass,  Pella; 
John  C.  Culbertson,  Brenton;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman;  J.  W.  Gilkerson,  Wall; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  O.  A.  Lundelof,  Snllivant;  Horace  C. 
IMcClure,  Drummer;  W.  A.  Cameron,  Dix;  A.  J.  Laurence,  Patton,  R.  C.  Parks, 
Button. 

1903 — Henry  Raab,  Rogers;  Thomas  Kewly,  Mona;  J.  P.  Glass,  Pella; 
John  C.  Culbertson,  Brenton;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman;  J.  W.  Gilkerson,  Wall; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard ;  George  Stockdale,  Snllivant ;  Horace  McClure, 
Drummer ;  W.  A.  Cameron,  Dix ;  Albert  Froyd,  Patton ;  R.  C.  Parks,  Button. 

1904 — Henry  Raab,  Rogers ;  Thomas  Kewly,  Mona ;  J.  P.  Glass,  Pella ;  John 
C.  Culbertson,  Brenton;  J.  P.  Smith,  Lyman;  J.  W.  Gilkerson,  Wall;  Owen  K. 
Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  George  Stockdale,  Snllivant;  Horace  McClure,  Drum- 
mer; W.  A.  Cameron,  Dix;  Albert  Froyd,  Patton;  R.  C.  Parks,  Button. 

1905 — Henry  Raab,  Rogers ;  Thomas  Kewly,  IMona ;  J.  P.  Glass,  Pella ;  John 
C.  Culbertson,  Brenton ;  R.  B.  Chambers,  Lyman ;  J.  W.  Gilkerson,  Wall ;  Owen 
K.   Boshen,   Peach   Orchard;    George   Stockdale,    Snllivant;    Horace   McClure, 


64  HISTORY   OP   FORD   COUNTY 

Driiininer;  W.  A.  Ciuneron.  Dix;  Albert  Froyd.  Patton,  R.  C.  Parks.  Button. 

1906— Henry  Raab.  Rogers;  Thomas  Kewly,  Moim;  J.  P.  Glass,  Pella; 
John  C.  Culbertson.  Brenton  ;  R.  B.  Chambers,  Lyman;  J.  W.  Gilkerson.  AVall; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  (leorge  Stockdale,  Sullivant;  W.  E.  Proctor, 
Drummer;  W.  A.  Cameron,  Dix;  Albert  Froyd.  Patton;  R.  C.  Parks,  Button. 

1907— Henry  Raab,  Rogers;  Thomas  Kewly,  IMona ;  J.  P.  Glass,  Pella; 
John  C.  Culbertson,  Brenton;  R.  B.  Chambers,  Lyman;  J.  AV.  Gilkerson,  Wall; 
Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  George  Stockdale,  Sullivant;  W.  E.  Proctor, 
Drummer;  W.  A.  Cameron,  Dix;  Albert  Froyd,  Patton;  Sherman  Frederick, 
Button. 

1908— AV.  li.  Gilborne,  Rogers;  Thomas  Kewly,  lyLma ;  A\^  T.  Atwood, 
Pella;  John  C.  Culbertson.  Brenton;  R.  B.  Chambers,  Lyman;  J.  AV.  Gilkerson, 
AVall;  Owen  K.  Boshen,  Peach  Orchard;  George  Stockdale,  Sullivant;  AV.  E. 
Proctor,  Drummer;  AV.  A.  Cameron,  Dix;  Albert  Froyd,  Patton;  Sherman 
Frederick,  Button. 


MONUMENTS  TO   THE  SOLDIER   DEAD. 

At  Gibson  City,  in  "the  soldiers'  circle"  of  the  cemetery,  a  one  hundred- 
pound  Parrot  gun  and  an  eight-inch  mortar  from  Fortress  Monroe  are  mounted 
beside  a  pyramid  of  eight-inch  shells  and  dedicated  May  30,  1898,  to  the  sol- 
diers of  the  Civil  war.  The  work  w'as  carried  out  under  the  auspices  of  the 
local  G.  A.  R.  post  at  a  cost  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars. 

At  Paxton,  in  Glen  cemetery,  erected  under  the  auspices  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
and  AV.  R.  C,  a  marble  shaft,  twenty-two  feet  high,  surmounted  by  the  figure 
of  a  private  st)ldier,  was  dedicated  IMay  30,  1901,  "To  the  memory  of  the 
unknoAvn  sokliers"  of  the  Civil  wjir.       Cost  al)out  fifteen  Inuidred  dollars. 

At  Piper  City,  in  tlic  pu1)lie  ])ark,  there  is  a  cannon  and  p\raniid  of  balls 
dedicated  by  the  local  G.  A.  R.  post  to  the  memory  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Civil 
war. 


IJATThKS    FOR    COUNTY    SEAT. 


Even  at  the  start.  Paxton  had  her  troubles  in  the  way  of  obtaining  for 
herself  the  capital  of  the  county.  Her  success  canic^  fi'om  her  environments 
and   the   tigliting   (jiialities   oF   hev   citizens.        Tlie   (|uesti()ii   ol*   tlic   county   seat 


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HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  67 

sluinbei-cd,  iiu'rely,  for  years.  Gibson  City  was  ambitious  and  ever  east  a  eov- 
etous  eye  toward  the  capital.  The  culmination  of  her  aspirations  came  in 
1905,  when  certain  of  her  citizens  made  an  offer  of  money  (in  notes)  and  a 
new  conrthouse,  as  an  inducement  for  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  that 
place.  The  courthouse  was  to  be  built  on  "lot  8,"  not  in  the  corporation. 
A  vote  was  taken,  after  a  warm  and  bitter  contest,  November  14,  and  Paxton 
won.      Tbe  vote  is  given,  in  tabulated  forms,  below: 

Paxton  Block  8       Total 

Rogers    115  26  141 

Mona    123  19  142 

Pella    100  17  117 

Brenton   246  74  320 

Lyman    165  116  281 

Wall  145  21  166 

Peach  Orchard  32  217  249 

Sullivant   64  184  248 

Drummer    12  804  816 

Dix   106  218  324 

Button    201  4  205 

Patton  No.  1 487  487 

Patton  No.  2  478  6  474 

Patton  No.  3  123  2  123 


Totals  2,397        1,708         4,105 


COUNTY  GOVERNMENT. 

So  far  as  the  principal  county  offices  are  concerned,  the  general  arrange- 
ment and  method  of  handling  the  public  business  is  very  much  the  same  as  in 
all  of  the  states;  but  the  offices  are  called  by  different  names,  and  in  minor 
details — such  as  transferring  from  one  office  to  another  certain  minor  lines  of 
work — there  are  a  number  of  points  in  which  the  method  of  county  government 
in  the  various  states  differs.  The  names  of  the  principal  county  offices  are 
adopted,  which  are  most  common  in  the  northern  states,  as  in  the  southern  and 
New  England  states  there  are  scarcely  any  two  states  in  which  the  names  or 
titles  of  all  the  county  offices  are  identical. 


68  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

AUDITING_OFFICE  AND  CLERK  OP  THE  COUNTY  BOARD. 

Generally  the  principal  auditing  officer  of  the  county  is  known  as  the 
"county  auditor"  or  ** county  clerk."  In  Illinois,  Kansas,  jMissouri,  Wiscon- 
sin and  many  other  states  the  office  is  called  "county  clerk."  In  Indiana, 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota,  Ohio  and  others  it  is  termed  ' '  county  auditor. ' ' 
In  a  few  of  the  states  under  certain  conditions  tliis  office  is  merged  with  some 
other  county  office.  A  notable  example  of  this  is  in  the  state  of  Michigan, 
where  they  have  one  official,  under  the  simple  title  of  "clerk,"  who  looks  after 
about  all  the  work  which  in  most  of  the  states  devolves  upon  both  the  county 
clerk  and  also  clerk  of  court.  In  all  of  the  states  a  bond  in  a  moderate  sum 
is  required  of  the  county  clerk  or  auditor,  and  he  is  paid  a  salary  of  from  one 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  to  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  year, 
besides  in  some  states  being  allowed  certain  fees,  unless  it  is  in  a  very  large 
and  heavilj'  populated  county,  where  the  salary  paid  is  of  necessity  much 
higher  than  this  amount.  No  county  treasurer  or  member  of  the  county  board 
is  eligible  to  this  office.  In  general  terms  it  may  be  stated  as  a  rule  the  audi- 
tor acts  as  a  clerk  or  secretary  of  the  official  county  board,  although  in  a  few 
of  the  states  the  court  clerk  is  required  to  look  after  this  matter.  The  clerk 
of  the  county  board  keeps  an  accurate  record  of  the  board's  proceedings  and 
carefully  preserves  all  documents,  records,  books,  maps  and  papers  which  may 
be  brought  before  the  board,  or  which  the  law  provides  shall  be  deposited  in 
his  office.  In  the  auditing  office  an  accurate  account  is  kept  with  the  county 
treasurer.  Generally  they  file  the  duplicates  of  the  receipts  given  by  the 
county  treasurer,  charging  him  with  all  money  paid  into  the  treasury  and  giv- 
ing credit  for  all  warrants  paid.  The  general  plan  of  paying  claims  against 
a  county  is  as  follows:  If  the  claim  is  one  in  which  the  amount  due  is  fixed 
by  law,  or  is  authorized  to  be  fixed  by  some  other  person  or  tribunal,  the  audi- 
tor issues  a  warrant  or  order  which  will  be  paid  by  the  treasurer,  the  certificate 
upon  which  it  is  allowed  being  duly  filed.  In  all  other  cases  the  claim  must 
be  allowed  b.N'  th(3  county  board,  and  the  chairman  or  presiding  officer  issues 
a  warrant  or  order  wliicli  is  attested  by  the  clerk.  A  complete  record  of  all 
these  county  warrants  or  orders  is  kept,  and  the  accounts  of  the  county  treas- 
urer must  balance  therewith.  The  above  in  general  terms  outline  the  most 
important  branch  of  work'  which  the  county  clerk  or  county  auditor  looks  after 
in  most  of  the  states,  l)ut  in  all  the  states  the  law  riviuires  him  to  look  after  a 
number  of  other  matters,  although  in  these  there  is  no  uiiifoi'inity  between  the 
various  states,  and  no  general  (l('S('ri])tion  of  tliese  mitioi-  or  additional  duties 
could  be  given  that  would  apply  to  all  the  states. 


HISTORY  OF   FORI)   COUNTY  69 

COUNTY  TREASURER. 

This  is  an  office  wliicli  exists  in  all  the  states,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  various  offices  necessary  in  carrying  on  the  business  of  the 
"onnty.  It  is  an  elective  office  in  all  of  the  states,  and  the  term  of  office  is 
usually  either  two  or  four  years,  ])ut  a  very  common  provision  in  the  various 
states  is  that  after  serving  for  one  term  as  county  treasurer  a  party  shall  Ix' 
ineligible  to  the  office  until  the  intervention  of  at  least  one  term  after  the 
expiration  of  the  term  for  which  he  was  elected.  This  provision,  however, 
does  not  exist  in  all  of  the  states,  as  in  some  of  them  the  county  treasurer  is 
eligible  for  re-election  for  any  number  of  terms. 

The  general  duties  of  the  county  treasurers  throughout  the  various  states 
is  very  similar.  The  county  treasurer  is  the  principal  custodian  of  the  funds 
belonging  to  the  county.  It  is  his  duty  to  receive  and  safely  keep  the  revenues 
and  other  public  moneys  of  the  county,  and  all  funds  authorized  to  be  paid  to 
him,  and  disburse  the  same  pursuant  to  law.  He  is  required  to  keep  proper 
books  of  account,  in  which  he  must  keep  a  regular,  just  and  true  account  of 
all  moneys,  revenues  and  funds  received  by  him,  stating  particularly  the  time, 
when,  of  whom  and  on  what  fund  or  account  each  particular  sum  was  received; 
and  also  of  all  moneys,  revenues  and  funds  paid  out  by  him  according  to  law, 
stating  particularly  the  time,  when,  to  whom  and  on  what  fund  payment  is 
made  from.  The  books  of  the  county  treasurer  must  always  be  subject  to 
inspection  of  the  county  board,  which,  at  stated  intervals,  examines  his  books 
and  makes  settlements  with  him.  In  some  of  the  states  the  provisions  of  the 
law  relating  to  county  treasurer  are  very  strict ;  some  of  them  provide  for  a 
county  board  of  auditors,  who  are  expected,  several  times  a  year,  to  examine 
the  funds,  accounts  and  vouchers  of  the  treasury  without  previous  notice  to 
the  treasurer,  and  in  some  it  is  provided  that  this  board,  or  the  county  board, 
shall  designate  a  bank  (or  banks)  in  which  the  treasurer  is  required  to  keep 
the  county  funds  deposited — the  banks  being  required  to  pay  interest  on  daily 
or  monthly  balances  and  give  bond  to  indemnify  the  county  against  loss.  '  As 
a  general  rule  the  county  treasurer  is  only  authorized  to  pay  out  county  funds 
on  warrants  or  orders  issued  by  the  chairman  of  the  county  l^oard  and  attested 
by  the  clerk,  or  in  certain  cases  on  warrants  or  orders  of  the  county  auditing 
office.  A  complete  record  of  these  warrants  or  orders  is  kept,  and  the  treas- 
urer's accounts  must  balance  therewith.  In  most  of  the  states  the  law  is  very 
ex])licit  in  directing  how  the  books  and  accoiuits  of  the  county  treasurer  shall 
be  kept. 


70  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 


COUNTY  recordf:r  or  register  of  deeds. 


In  a  few  of  the  states  the  office  of  county  recorder  or  register  of  deeds 
is  merged  with  some  other  county  office  in  counties  where  the  population  falls 
below  a  certain  amount.  A  notable  example  of  this  is  found  in  both  the  states 
of  Illinois  and  IMissouri  (and  there  are  others)  where  it  is  merged  with  the 
office  of  circuit  clerk  in  many  counties.  The  title  of  the  joint  office  is  "circuit 
clerk  and  recorder,"  and  the  duties  of  both  offices  are  looked  after  by  one 
official. 

The  duties  of  the  county  recorder  or  register  of  deeds  are  very  similar 
in  the  various  states,  although  in  some  of  the  eastern  and  soutliern  states  tlie 
office  is  called  by  other  names.  The  usual  name,  however,  is  county  recorder 
or  register  of  deeds.  In  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  IMissouri,  Ohio  and  many 
other  states,  it  is  called  "county  recorder."  In  Kansas,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
North  Dakota,  Wisconsin  and  many  more  it  is  called  "register  of  deeds."  In 
all  of  the  states  this  office  is  the  repository  wherein  are  kept  all  records  relat- 
ing to  deeds,  mortgages,  transfers  and  contracts  affecting  lands  within  the 
county.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  recorder  or  register,  as  soon  as  practical  after 
the  filing  of  any  instrument  in  writing  in  his  office  entitled  to  be  recorded,  to 
record  the  same  at  length,  in  the  order  of  the  time  of  its  reception,  in  liooks 
provided  by  the  county  for  that  purpose;  and  it  is  his  duty  to  endorse  on  all 
instruments  a  certificate  of  the  time  when  the  same  was  filed.  All  of  the  states 
have  some  of  the  following  provisions  concerning  the  duties  of  the  recorder, 
but  these  provisions  are  not  common  to  all  of  the  states,  viz :  The  register  or 
recorder  is  not  allowed  to  record  an  instrument  of  any  kind  unless  it  is  duly 
executed  according  to  law ;  he  is  not  obliged  to  record  any  instrument  unless 
his  fees  are  paid  in  advance;  as  a  rule,  it  is  luilawful  for  him  to  record  any 
map,  plat  or  subdivision  of  land  situated  within  any  incorporated  city,  town  or 
village  until  it  is  approved  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  same.  In  many  states 
he  is  forbidden  to  enter  a  deed  on  the  records  until  it  has  been  endorsed  "taxes 
paid"  by  the  proper  official;  he  is  required  to  exhibit,  free  of  charge,  all  rec- 
ords, and  allow  copies  to  l)e  made;  he  is  authorized  to  adniiiiislei-  oaths  and 
take  acknowledgments. 


CIRCUIT    (^R    DISTRICT    CLERK,    OR    CUERK    OK    COURT. 

In  nearly  all  of  the  states,  each  county  elects  a  "clerk  of  court  or  courts," 
sometimes   also   known    as   cii'cnit    clei'k   or   disli'ict   clci'lc,    iiKlicjit  ing   the    coui't 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  71 

with  which  tlie  office  is  connected.  In  some  of  the  states,  as  has  already  been 
stated,  th(^  office  of  clerk  of  court  is  merged  with  some  other  county  office. 
This  is  the  case  in  Illinois  and  IMissonri,  where  in  many  counties  it  is  connected 
with  the  office  of  county  recorder.  In  IMichiyan,  one  official  under  the  name 
of  "clerlv"  handles  the  business  which  usually  is  given  to  the  clerk  of  court 
and  county  clerk  or  auditor.  In  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Illinois  and  other  states 
the  name  used  is  "circuit  clerlv";  in  Kansas,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota  and 
many  others  the  office  is  called  "clerk  of  district  court";  while  in  many  of  the 
states,  including  Indiana,  Ohio,  Iowa  and  others,  it  is  simply  called  "clerk"  or 
"clerk  of  the  court  or  courts." 

The  chief  duty  of  this  official  is  to  act  as  clerk  of  the  district  or  circuit 
court,  and  sometimes  other  courts  of  inferior  jurisdiction.  It  is  the  clerk's 
duty  to  keep  the  seals  and  attend  the  sessions  of  their  respective  courts,  pre- 
serve all  the  files  and  papers  thereof,  make,  keep  and  preserve  complete  records 
of  all  the  proceedings  and  determinations  thereof,  and  carry  out  such  other 
duties  as  nuiy  be  required  by  the  rules  and  orders  of  their  respective  courts. 
They  must  enter  of  record  all  judgments,  decrees  and  orders  of  the  court  as 
soon  as  possible  after  they  are  renderd;  keep  all  indictments  on  file  as  a  public 
record,  have  authority  to  administer  oaths,  take  acknowledgements ;  take  and 
certify  depositions,  and  are  required  to  exhibit  all  records  free  of  charge.  In 
nearly  all  the  states  tlie  law  defines  the  character  of  the  record  books  which 
the  clerk  of  court  nuist  keep.  Although  there  is  no  settled  rule  in  this  mat- 
ter, the  general  provisions  are  that  he  shall  i<eei) :  First,  a  general  docket 
or  register  of  actions,  in  which  is  entered  the  title  of  each  action  in  the  order 
in  which  they  are  conunenced,  and  a  description  of  each  paper  filed  in  the 
cause  and  all  proceedings  therein;  second,  a  plaintiff's  index  and  defendant's 
index;  third,  a  judgment  book  and  execution  docket  in  which  he  enters  the 
judgment  in  each  action,  time  of  issuing  execution,  satisfaction,  etc.,  and  such 
other  books  as  the  courts  or  tlie  laws  may  prescribe. 


SHERIFF. 

In  all  of  the  states  the  office  of  sheriff  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
countj^  offices.  The  term  of  office  varies  in  different  states,  being  usually 
either  two  or  four  years,  and  in  several  of  the  states  one  party  cannot  hold  the 
office  a  second  term  consecutively.  The  general  provisions  (mtlining  the  duties 
pertaining  to  this  office  are  very  nuich  alike  in  the  various  states,  and  the  fol- 
lowing resume  of  his  duties  may  be  said  to  apply  to  all  of  the  various  states 


72  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

except  ill  a  few  minor  and  unimportant  details.  The  sheriff  is  charged  with 
the  duty  of  keeping  and  preserving  peace  in  his  county ;  or,  as  has  been  written, 
"He  is  the  conservator  of  peace,"  and  it  is  his  duty  to  keep  the  same,  sup- 
press riots,  affrays,  tighting,  ])reaches  of  tlie  peace  and  prevent  crime,  and  may 
arrest  offenders  "on  view"  and  cause  them  to  be  brought  before  the  proper 
magistrate ;  and  to  do  this,  or  to  execute  any  writ,  warrant,  process,  order  or 
decree,  he  may  call  to  his  aid  when  necessary  any  person  or  the  "power  of  the 
county."  It  is  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  to  serve  and  execute  within  his  county, 
and  return,  all  writs,  warrants,  process,  orders  and  decrees  of  every  descrip- 
tion that  may  be  legally  directed  and  delivered  to  him.  He  is  a  court  officer, 
and  it  is  his  tbit,v  to  attend,  either  in  person  or  by  deputy,  all  courts  of  record 
held  in  this  county ;  by  virtue  of  his  office  he  has  custody  of  the  jail.  It  is 
his  duty  to  pursue  and  apprehend  felons  and  persons  charged  with  crime  and 
has  custody  of  prisoners.  He  is  not  allowed  to  purchase  any  property  exposed 
for  sale  by  him  as  sheriff. 


COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENT   OR   COMMISSIONER   OF    SCHOOLS. 

This  is  an  office  Avhich  exists  under  one  name  or  another  in  nearly  every 
state  in  the  Union.  The  title  of  the  office  in  a  great  majority  of  the  states 
is  "county  superintendent,"  but  in  Michigan,  Missouri,  Ohio,  New  York,  and 
possibly  one  or  two  other  states,  the  office  is  termed  "school  commissioner,"  and 
in  several  of  the  states  the  laws  provide  for  a  board  of  county  examiners  or 
school  commissioners,  who  are  given  considerable  of  the  work  th.it  in  most  of 
the  other  states  is  handled  by  the  county  superintendent. 

The  name  of  this  office  implies  the  duties  which  devolve  upon  it.  and  ihey 
are  very  much  alike  in  all  of  the  states.  The  incumbent  of  this  office  is 
charged  with  a  general  supervision  over  the  schools  of  the  county,  and  must 
])('  a  fitting  person  as  to  education  and  moral  character.  As  a  rule  it  is  his 
duty  to  examine  the  license  teachers,  but  in  a  few  of  the  states  provision  is 
made  for  a  board  of  examiners.  County  superintendents  are  required  to  visit 
iiiid  inspect  the  schools  at  regular  intervals,  and  give  such  advice  and  instruc- 
tion to  teachers  as  may  he  deemed  necessary  and  proper.  They  are  required 
lo  orgiinize  and  conduct  institut-ions  for  the  instruction  of  teachers  if  deemed 
necessary,  and  encourage  teachers'  associations.  They  introduce  to  the  notice 
of  teachers  and  the  people  the  best  modes  of  instruction,  llie  most  approved 
])laiis  of  l)uilding  and  ventilating  school  houses,  etc.,  stimulate  school  officers 
to  the  prompt  and   proper  discharge  of  their  duties.        They  receive  reports 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  73 

from  the  various  school  officers,  and  transmit  an  abstract  of  these  reports  to 
the  state  superintendent,  adding  a  report  of  the  condition  of  the  schools  under 
their  charge.  In  nearl}^  all  the  states  the^^  are  forbidden  having  any  interest 
in  the  sale  of  any  school  furniture,  apparatus  or  books  used  in  the  schools. 
In  many  states  they  have  authority  to  annul  a  teacher's  certificate  for  proper 
cause,  and  in  general  to  take  such  steps  and  enforce  such  methods  as  will  ele- 
vate and  make  more  efficient  the  schools  under  their  control. 


COUNTY,   PROSECUTING  OR  STATES  ATTORNEY. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  various  states  in  the  method  of 
handling  or  attending  to  the  legal  business  relating  to  county  matters  or  grow- 
ing from  county  affairs.  In  many  of  the  states  the  official  who  attends  to 
this  line  of  work  is  known  as  the  "count}^  attorney,"  in  other  states  he  is  called 
the  states  attorney  or  prosecuting  or  district  attorney.  In  a  few  of  the  states 
they  divide  the  state  into  districts  embracing  a  number  of  counties,  and  a  dis- 
trict attorney  is  elected  in  each  district,  who  in  some  cases  attends  to  all  the 
legal  work  of  the  various  counties,  and  in  others  he  assists  the  county  attorneys 
in  their  most  important  duties  and  prosecutions.  But  whatever  plan  may  be 
followed  in  the  various  states,  and  whatever  title  may  be  given  to  this  office, 
the  general  duties  of  the  office  are  very  nuich  the  same  throughout  all  the 
states.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  county  attorney  to  commence  and  prosecute  all 
actions,  suits,  indictments,  and  prosecutions,  civil  and  criminal,  in  any  court 
of  record  in  his  county  in  which  the  "people  of  the  state  or  county"  may  be 
concerned;  to  prosecute  all  forfeited  bonds  and  recognizances,  and  all  actions 
for  the  recovery  of  debts,  revenues,  moneys,  fines,  etc.,  accruing  to  his  county ; 
to  commence  and  prosecute  all  actions  and  proceedings  brought  by  any  county 
officer  in  his  official  capacity;  to  defend  all  actions  and  proceedings  brought 
against  his  county,  or  against  any  county  officer  in  his  official  capacity ;  to  give 
legal  opinions  and  advice  to  the  county  board  or  other  county  officers  in  rela- 
tion to  their  official  duties;  to  attend,  if  possible,  all  preliminary  examinations 
of  criminals.  When  requested  he  is  recpired  to  attend  sessions  of  the  grand 
jury,  examine  witnesses  in  their  presence,  give  legal  advice  and  see  that  proper 
subpoenas  and  processes  are  issued;  draw  up  indictments  and  prosecute  the 
same.  The  county  attorney  is  required,  when  requested  by  the  attorney  gen- 
eral, to  appear  for  the  state  in  cases  in  his  county  in  which  the  state  is  inter- 
ested. The  county  attorney  makes  an  annual  report  to  his  superior  state  officer 
of  all  the  criminal  cases  prosecuted  by  him: 


74  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COL'XTY 


PROBATE    OR    COUNTY    JUDGE. 

The  method  of  handling'  probate  matters  is  not  uniform  throno-hout  the 
vari(ms  states.  In  many  states  the  hiy-her  eonrts  are  oiven  jurisdiction  over 
proliate  matters,  and  in  others  they  have  created  districts  in  wliich  are  hek] 
probate  courts,  whose  jurisdiction  extends  over  several  counties  and  tak(\s  in 
othtn-  matters  besides  purely  probate  affairs.  In  a  majority  of  the  states,  how- 
ever, particularly  the  western  and  northern  states,  they  elect  a  county  or  a 
probate  judge,  who  holds  court  and  handles  the  probate  matters  which  arise 
within  his  county.  The  jurisdiction  of  these  county  or  probate  courts  is  not 
alwaj's  confined  exclusively  to  probate  matters,  and  they  generally  include  such 
matters  as  apprenticeship  affairs,  adoptions,  minors,  etc.  In  some  of  the 
states  they  have  both  a  county  judge  and  a  probate  judge,  and  in  these  cases 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  latter  is  confined  to  such  matters  as  are  in  line  with 
probate  matters.  In  Missouri  they  have  a  prol)ate  judge,  and  also  a  count}' 
court,  comi)osed  of  county  judges,  in  whom  the  corporate  powers  of  the  county 
are  vested — as  the  official  county  board.  In  IMichigan  they  have  a  probate 
judge  and  a  probate  register.  The  probate  judge  is  generally  given  original 
jurisdiction  in  all  matters  <ff  probate,  settlement  of  estates  of  deceased  per- 
sons, appointment  of  guardians  and  conservators  and  settlement  of  their 
accounts.  They  take  proof  of  wills,  direct  the  administration  of  estates,  grant 
and  revoke  letters  testamentary  and  of  administration,  appoint  and  remove 
guardians,  etc. 


COUNTY  SURVEYOR. 

This  is  an  office  which  is  common  to  nearly  all  of  the  states.  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  county  surveyor  to  execute  any  survey  wdiich  may  be  ordered  by 
any  court,  or  upon  application  of  any  individual  or  corporation,  and  preserve 
a  record  of  the  surveys  made  by  him.  Nearly  all  of  the  states  provide  that 
certain  records  shall  be  kept  l)y  the  county  surveyor  and  provide  penalties  for 
his  failure  to  place  on  record  the  surveys  made  ])y  him.  While  he  is  the  offi- 
cial surveyor,  yet  the  surveys  made  by  him  are  not  conclusive,  but  may  be 
reviewed  by  any  competent  tribunal,  and  llu!  correctness  thereof  may  be 
disputed. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  75 


COUNTY    CORONER. 

This  is  another  county  office  which  exists  in  nearly  all  of  the  states.  In 
the  average  county  there  is  not  much  work  for  the  coroner,  hut  in  the  counties 
in  which  large  cities  are  located  the  office  is  a  very  important  one.  In  general 
terms  it  may  be  stated  that  the  coroner  is  re([uired  to  hold  in(iuests  of  per- 
sons supi)osed  to  have  met  with  violent  or  unnatural  deaths.  In  most  states 
he  has  power  to  empanel  a  jury  to  enquire  into  the  cause  of  death;  but  in 
some  of  them  this  is  not  the  case,  and  he  is  given  power  to  act  alone.  He  can 
subpoena  witnesses;  administer  oaths;  in  certain  cases  provide  for  a  decent 
burial,  and  can  bind  over  to  the  proper  court  any  person  implicated  in  the 
killing  of  the  deceased. 


OTHER   COUNTY   OFFICES. 

The  county  offices  that  have  already  been  mentioned  are  the  principal  ones 
found  in  all  of  the  states.  There  are,  however,  a  few  other  county  officials 
besides  those  mentioned  which  exist  in  many  of  the  states,  and  which  should 
be  briefly  mentioned  in  this  connection.  These  are  such  offices  as  county  phy- 
sician, county  assessor,  county  collector,  county  poor  commissioner  or  superin- 
tendent of  the  county  poorhouse,  master  in  chancery  or  court  commissioner, 
county  examiners,  board  of  equalization,  board  of  review,  etc.  The  names  of 
these  offices  imply  the  duties.  These  offices  do  not  exist  in  all  of  the  states, 
but  in  nearly  every  state  the  law  provides  for  one  or  more  of  these  county 
officials. 


COUNTY    BOARD. 

The  powers  of  every  county  as  a  body  politic  and  corporate  are  vested 
in  a  county  board.  This  official  county  board  is  generally  termed  the  county 
"board  of  supervisors"  or  "board  of  commissioners,"  but  there  are  some 
exceptions  to  this,  like  Missouri,  where  the  county  board  is  known  as  the 
"county  court."  There  is  considerable  difference  in  the  makeup  of  the  county 
board  in  the  various  states.  In  some  it  is  made  up  of  one  member  from  each 
township  in  the  county.  In  others  the  counties  are  divided  into  districts,  and 
one  member  of  the  county  board  is  chosen  from  each  district.  No  general 
description  of  this  could  be  given  that  would  be  accurate,  as  some  of  the  states 
follow  both  of  these  plans.       For  instance,  in  Illinois  some  of  the  counties  are 


76  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

governed  by  a  board  of  supervisors,  which  is  made  up  of  one  member  from 
eaoli  township,  while  other  counties  in  tlie  same  state  are  governed  by  a  board 
of  county  commissioners,  consisting  of  three  or  more  members,  each  represent- 
ing districts  into  which  the  counties  in  question  are  divided. 

The  general  powers  of  the  county  board  throughout  all  the  states,  is  about 
the  same,  except  in  minor  details.  It  represents  the  legislative  and  corporate 
powers  of  the  county.  One  of  their  number  is  a'lways  chosen  as  chairman 
or  president,  and  acts  as  the  presiding  officer.  The  county  board  has  general 
charge  over  the  affairs  of  the  county.  It  is  their  duty  to  provide  county 
offices,  provide  desks,  stationery,  books,  fuel,  etc, ;  examine,  investigate  and 
adjust  claims  against  the  county  and  have  general  care  and  custody  of  all  the 
real  and  personal  estate  owned  by  the  county.  At  regular  intervals  they  set- 
tle with  the  county  treasurer;  examine  accounts  and  vouchers.  They  locate 
county  roads ;  determine  the  amount  of  county  tax,  and  regularly  publish  a 
statement  of  their  proceedings;  make  statements  of  receipts,  expenditures,  etc.; 
and  make  all  contracts,  and  do  all  other  acts  in  relation  to  the  property  and 
concerns  of  the  county  necessary  to  exercise  its  corporate  powers  that  are  not 
especially  delegated  to  any  other  county  officials. 


TOWNSHIP  GOVERNMENT. 

The  method  of  township  government  throughout  the  different  states  varies 
so  nnich  that  it  is  impossible  to  treat  of  it  more  than  in  a  general  way.  In 
many  of  the  states  the  townships  are  not  organized  as  bodies  corporate,  and 
in  other  states  in  some  counties  they  may  have  township  organization,  while  in 
other  counties  in  the  same  state  it  does  not  exist.  In  cases  where  there  is  no 
township  organization  the  law  provides  that  certain  county  officers  shall  attend 
to  the  local  work,  or  that  work  which  in  other  localities  is  assumed  by  the  town- 
ship officials.  But  even  where  they  have  township  organization  the  plan  of 
township  government  in  the  different  states  where  it  exists  differs  so  widely  that 
scarcely  any  two  states  may  be  said  to  be  alike.  About  the  only  statements 
concerning  the  organized  townships  that  coidd  be  made  which  would  apply  to 
nil  fhe  states  are  the  following:  Every  organized  township  in  its  corporate 
capacity  has  power  to  sue  and  be  sued ;  to  acquire  by  purchase,  gift  or  devise, 
and  hold  property,  both  real  and  personal,  for  the  use  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
again  to  sell  and  convey. the  same;  and  to  make  all  such  contracts  as  may  be 
necessary  in  the  exercise  of  its  powers  as  a  township. 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  77 

In  a  great  many  of  the  states  the  townsliip  ofovernment  is  carried  on  after 
a  plan  very  similar  to  the  county  and  state  governments,  having  various  execu- 
tive officers  and  a  township  board  in  which  the  corporate  and  legislative  pow- 
ers'of  the  township  are  vested.  In  other  states  they  follow  a  plan  whicli 
reserves  to  the  people  all  corporate  and  legislative  powers,  and  therefore  have 
no  need  for  a  township  ))oard.  hut  have  various  township  officers  to  carry  out 
the  wishes  and  orders  of  the  voters.  Where  this  plan  prevails  they  hold  what 
it  generally  termed  "town  meetings,"  at  which  every  legal  voter  of  the  town- 
ship has  a  voice.  At  these  meetings  reports  are  had  from  the  various  town- 
ship officials,  and  the  necessary  measures  are  adopted  and  directions  given  for 
carrjdng  on  the  township  business. 

Still  other  states  combine  good  features  from  both  of  the  plans  above 
mentioned,  and  besides  the  other  usual  toA^T^iship  officials  they  maintain  a  town- 
ship board,  which  is  given  certain  restricted  powers,  such  as  those  of  a  review 
or  an  auditing  board,  but  they  are  not  vested  with  the  complete  corporate  and 
legislative  powers  of  the  township,  this  being  reserved  in  a  large  measure  to 
the  voters,  and  a'll  questions  calling  for  the  exercise  of  such  authority  are  acted 
upon  at  the  town  meetings.  In  many  of  the  states  the  township  board  just 
described  is  made  up  of  three  or  more  of  the  other  township  officers,  who  are 
ex  officio  members  of  the  township  board,  and  they  meet  at  certain  times,  jxn-- 
forni  the  work  required  of  them,  and  report  to  the  town  meetings. 

•  The  principal  officials  in  township  organizations  in  nearly  all  the  states 
are  the  following:  "Supervisors,  or  trustees,"  "clerk,"  "treasurer,"  "asses- 
sor." "collector,"  "justices  of  the  peace,"  "constables,"  "overseers,"  "super- 
visors or  commissioners  of  highways,"  and  "pound-masters,"  although  as  has 
been  stated,  many  of  the  states  do  not  have  all  of  these  officials. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  several  townships  composing  the  county  of 
Ford,  with  the  date  of  their  organization,  as  a  part  of  Ford  county. 

When  the  county  was  organized  in  June,  1859,  it  was  divided  into  three 
townships:  Patton,  Stockton  and  Drummer  Grove,  and  out  of  these  three  have 
been  created  the  following: 

Rogers    organized  September  1-1.  186:3 

Brenton    organized  IMarcli  17,  1864 

Button    organized  December    13,  1864 

Dix   organized  September  12,  1864 

Wall  organized  April  2,  1867 

Sullivant    organized  September  10,  1867 

Lyman    organized  September  10,  1867 


78  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

Peach  Orchard   org-anized  September  15,  1868 

Pelhi   orofanized  I\Iareh  2,  1870 

Mona    organized  ]\Iarch  2.  1870 

Patton    organized  February     16,  1856 

Drummer    organized  September  14,  1858 


PAXTON. 

The  city  of  Paxton  is  hiid  out  in  sections  7,  8.  17  and  18.  in  range  10  east, 
in  the  township  of  Patton.  INIost  of  it  lies  in  sections  7  and  8.  Nearly  all  of 
the  blocks,  lots  and  streets  are  laid  out  parallel  with  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road, or  on  an  angle  of  about  fifteen  degrees.  The  original  town  consisting  of 
thirty-five  blocks,  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  railroad,  was  laid  off  in  the  spring  of 
1857,  by  A.  D.  Southworth,  deputy  county  surveyor  of  Vermilion  county.  The 
land  was  owned  by  AY.  H.  Pells,  R.  R.  ]Murdo<'k,  Leander  Britt,  Benjamin 
Stites  and  D.  Donally.  The  next  addition  to  tlie  town  was  the  railroad 
addition,  laid  out  north  of  the  original  town,  in  the  spring  of  1858,  for  Joseph 
E.  Austin.  A.  H.  Reynolds,  Hiram  C.  Todd,  L.  Britt.  R.  R.  IMurdock  and  W.  II. 
Pells.  This  addition  consisted  of  fourteen  whole  blocks  and  twenty-one 
fractional  blocks. 

In  1867,  W.  II.  Pells  laid  out  Pells'  addition  west  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad,  consisting  of  twelve  fractional  blocks,  ad.joining  the  original  town  on 
the  west,  and  the  same  year  James  ]\Iix  laid  out  forty-three  blocks  lying  n(U'th 
and  west  of  the  railroad  addition. 

The  next  addition  to  Paxton  was  Pells'  addition  east  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad,  laid  out  in  1870,  for  William  II.  Pells,  by  II.  J.  Howe,  connty  surveyor. 
This  addition  joins  the  original  town  on  the  east,  and  contains  nineteen  blocks. 
A  small  addition  was  laid  off  by  Surveyor  Howe,  in  the  fall  of  1870  for  J.  E. 
Hall  and  George  Schlosser,  consisting  of  one  block,  of  fourteen  lots,  known  as 
Hall's  addition. 

In  1875,  R.  R.  Murdock  laid  off  twenty-nine  lots,  in  the  northeast  ])art  of  the 
town  known  as  Murdock's  additioii.  In  IMarch,  1877,  S.  J.  Ton'  and  A.  C. 
Thompson,  owners  of  lots  5  and  6  in  Goodrich's  subdivision  caused  a  resurvey 
to  be  made,  paying  them  off  into  four  blocks  of  thirty-five  lots,  known  as  Toy  & 
Thompson's  addition. 


(JO* 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  81 

THE      NAME. 

Pnxton  has  not  always  been  the  name  of  this  town.  When  orio-inally  hiid 
ont,  it  was  called  Prospect  City,  and  before  tliat  time  it  was  known  as  Prairie 
City,  wliich  was  also  the  name  of  the  township  before  being  changed  to  Patton. 
It  continued  to  be  called  Prospect  City  until  September,  1859,  when  a  petition 
was  presented  to  the  county  court,  asking  it  to  change  the  name  of  Prospect 
City  to  Paxton.  The  petition  was  granted,  "and  the  place  heretofore  known 
as  Prospect  Citv  shall  hereafter  be  known  l)v  the  name  of  Paxton." 

It  is  authoritatively  reported  that  Sir  Richard  Paxton,  of  England,  was 
organizing  a  colony  in  that  country  to  settle  in  Illinois,  and  it  was  thought 
that  by  naming  this  town  Paxton,  in  honor  of  him,  it  might  have  some  influence 
in  inducing  him  to  settle  here. 

This  gentleman  has  a  name  in  history  as  being  the  architect  of  the  first 
crystal  palace  in  London. 

The  change  of  name  did  not  have  the  desired  effect,  but  as  the  authorities 
saw  no  good  reason  for  changing  the  name  in  consequence  of  this  failure  the 
name  is  still  Paxton,  and  down  in  history. 


EARLY    COMERS    TO    THE    CITY    PRIOR    TO    1859. 

William  Goodrich,  John  P.  and  Samuel  L.  Day,  Charles  and  Fred  Cloyes, 
John  Buell,  Thomas  Buell,  James  Buck,  J.  F.  Hall,  Charles  Oakley,  S.  M.  Brown, 
Benjamin  Stites,  B.  F.  Stites,  R.  R.  Murdock,  L.  Britt,  W.  H.  Pells,  James  Cloyes, 
A.  Martin,  J.  T.  Bullard,  I.  W.  Shilling,  J.  Covalt,  N.  Simons,  O.  B.  Taft,  John 
and  Martin  Ross,  Dr.  P.  Myers,  Henry  Barnhouse,  Alexander  II.  Ilanley,  John 
Hanley,  Wheeler  Bentley,  Samuel  L.  Blain,  Dr.  John  Mills,  Dr.  S.  H.  Birney,  Dr. 
Way,  Dr.  Spencer,  Dr.  Camp,  L.  II.  Tabor,  William  and  Stacey  Daniels,  Thomas 
Lyon,  A.  McElroy,  J.  T.  Nicholson,  John  J.  Heckler,  W.  B.  Swisher,  Thomas 
Swisher,  Paul  Cooley,  Dryden  Donally,  John  S.  JMurdock,  Ed  Seymour,  William 
Seville,  A.  B.  Morey,  Daniel  Elms,  George  Forbes,  Squire  L.  Edgar,  Arthur 
Campbell,  William  and  Henry  Schenk,  Benjamin  Smith,  Howard  Case,  Thomas 
Daniel,  Henry  R.  Daggett,  John  Ryan,  Elihu  Swisher,  Thomas  F.  Townsley, 
Edward  L.  Gill  and  W.  H.  Bruyn. 

PAXTON      IN      THE      PAST. 

The  first  house  in  Paxton  was  the  house  owned  by  William  Goodrich,  which 
was  originally  built  on  the  west  side  of  the  railroad,  about  one  hundred  yards 


82  HISTORY   OP  FORD   COUNTY 

soiitli  dl'  Ottawa  street,  and  occupied  as  a  boardiiiji-house  for  men  who  were 
constrnetinsr  the  railroad. 

In  the  s])riny  of  185-1,  this  house  was  moved  up  to  Ottawa  street  and  oecu- 
ju'ed  by  Mr.  Goodrich  as  a  dwelling'.  He  afterward  kept  a  store  in  the  same 
building.  This  house  was  burned  a])out  1877.  Previous  to  this,  however,  a 
building  had  been  erected  by  B.  F.  and  J.  N.  Stites.  on  the  present  site  of  the 
Glen  cemetery,  this,  properly  speaking,  was  not  in  the  limits  of  Prospect  City  as 
afterward  laid  out.  In  the  fall  of  1854,  John  ]\Iurphy  built  the  later  Stites' 
residence,  and  about  the  same  time  Stites  Brothers  put  up  a  store  building  right 
opposite.  Prospect  City  could  not  really  be  said  to  have  any  boom  luitil  1857, 
the  buildings  erected  previous  to  this  date  being  those  already  mentioned,  and 
I.  W.  Shilling's  boarding-house  adjacent  to  the  Stites'  residence  on  the  east, 
afterward  removed;  the  residence  of  Thomas  Daniels  within  the  same  inclosure 
as  the  boarding-house,  was  used  by  Stites  Brothers  for  a  wagon-house.  Directly 
opposite  the  Daniels'  house  stood  the  small  octagon  building  which  stood  just 
across  the  road  from  the  old  cemetery.  This  building  was  occupied  as  a  meet- 
ing place  for  the  Spiritual  Circle,  their  moving  spirit  being  a  certain  Dr. 
Spencer.  In  1856,  the  Stites  Brothers  sold  out  their  store  to  Dryden  Donally, 
who  erected  a  residence  between  the  store  building  and  the  one  already  men- 
tioned as  occupied  by  the  Spiritualists.  About  this  time  Stacey  Daniels  built  a 
house  on  the  site  that  was  occupied  by  Captain  Shepardson's  handsome  residence. 

In  1857  a  small  hotel  was  built  on  the  southwest  corner  of  block  13,  original 
town,  east  of  the  railroad,  and  called  the  City  Hotel.  This  building  was  after- 
ward moved  up  near  the  depot,  on  the  northeast  corner  of  block  4,  enlarged  and 
christened  the  Bennett  House.  This  hotel  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Closely 
following  those  already  mentioned  came  the  store  of  Henry  Barnhouse,  Patton's 
block,  and  Abe  IMartin's  store  building  on  the  east  side  of  the  railroad;  and  on 
the  west  side  was  Cloyes  Brothers'  store,  on  lot  1,  block  12,  now  Lundberg's 
drug  store;  R.  Clark's  house  on  block  4,  and  the  nucleus  of  the  old  Occidental 
Hotel.  Our  space  will  not  warrant  us  to  enter  into  a  more  general  detail. 
Suffice  to  say,  that  stores,  residences  and  offices  rapidly  multiplied  from  that 
time  forward. 

The  first  voting  place  was  at  Goodrich's  residence,  and  afterward  at  the 
City  Hotel. 

First  term  of  cii-<  nit  court  was  held  at  the  City  Hotel,  afterward  at  Ilanley's 
Hall,  in  a  building  adjoining  the  Palton  bloek  on  the  west. 

At  an  early  date  the  postoffice  was  kept  by  Henry  Barnhouse,  at  his  store, 
nearly   o])i)osite  the   residence   of  B.   Q.   Cherry,   just    west  of   Paxton  on   the 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  83 

Ottawa  road,  and  our  best  information  is  that  upon  his  removal  to  Paxton,  Mr. 
Barnhonse  brought  the  postoffice  with  him.  The  name  of  the  postoffiee  was 
Ten  ]\Iile  Grove,  and  when  he  opened  the  office  here  it  was  changed  to  Prospect 
City.  It  is  thought  by  some  that  before  the  latter  name  was  adopted  it  was 
called  Prairie  City.      The  office  was  next  kept  in  the  store  of  Cloyes  Brothers. 

The  first  child  born  in  this  city  was  ^lilton  B.  Swisher,  in  1857,  in  the  house 
that  was  occupied  l)y  the  Stites  family. 

The  first  death  was  the  wife  of  Stacey  Daniels.  She  was  buried  in  the  old 
cemetery  south  of  town. 

The  first  marriage  license  issued  in  Ford  county  was  by  Nathan  Simons,  the 
clerk,  to  Charles  W.  Searing  and  Miss  Sarah  Bowles.  They  were  married  July 
3,  1859,  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Edwards. 

J.  D.  Wilson  started  a  harness  shop  in  1865,  in  a  building  that  was  just 
north  of  the  Occidental  Hotel.      A  Mr.  Seeley  opened  the  first  shop  here. 

INIessrs.  Case  &  Williains  started  the  first  livery  stable  which  stood  on  block 
12,  opposite  where  Putt's  livery  stable  afterward  stood. 

Edward  L.  Gill  opened  the  first  butcher  shop. 

The  first  druggist  here  was  J.  McCormick,  who  had  his  store  where  Dahl- 
gren's  grocery  store  stood. 

Henry  Daggett  had  a  tinshop  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  block  -4,  where 
Clark's  block  now  stands. 

John  J.  Heckler  Avas  a  shoemaker  and  had  his  shop  in  a  back  room  of 
Sej^mour's  house. 

Edward  Seymour  opened  the  first  blacksmith  shop  just  west  of  the  store  of 
Henry  Barnhouse. 

William  Daniels  was  the  first  carpenter,  and  Stacey  Daniels  the  first  mason 
in  the  town. 

In  1858,  forty-two  houses  were  standing  in  Prospect  City,  and  during  a 
heavy  wind  storm,  twenty-two  of  them  w^ere  blown  off  their  foundation  and  had 
to  be  repaired. 

James  Buck  built  the  first  elevator,  which  stood  where  White  Brothers 
lumberyard  stood. 

Papineau  &  IMartin  had  the  first  wagon  shop ;  it  stood  on  block  30,  near 
where  Mr.  Hefner's  house  stood. 

MUNICIPAL     AFFAIRS. 

The  census  of  Ford  county  for  1860  reveals  the  fact  that  Paxton  at  that 
time  had  only  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  inhabitants.       As  yet  the  little  vil- 


84  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

lage  had  no  corporate  existence.  l)ut  in  tlie  spring  of  1861.  as  the  records  show, 
"tlie  citizens  of  Paxton  convened,  pnrsuant  to  notice,  in  Patton's  Hall,  for  the 
pnrpose  of  electing  five  trustees  for  said  town."  At  this  election,  which  was 
held  April  15,  1861,  John  P.  Day,  James  G.  Cloyes,  L.  II.  Tabor,  L.  B.  Farrar 
and  Henry  Barnhouse  were  elected  trustees  of  the  village. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  this  board,  John  P.  Day  was  elected  president ;  R. 
S.  Buckland,  clerk ;  and  Frederick  Cloyes,  treasurer.  At  a  meeting  held  May 
1,  Samuel  L.  Blain  was  appointed  street  supervisor;  Howard  Case,  assessor; 
John  B.  Buell,  collector. 

]\Iay  8  was  enacted  the  first  ordinance  ever  adopted  by  the  board,  and  it 
was  in  relation  to  "Nuisances."  This  was  followed  at  the  same  meeting  by 
one  on  "  ]\Iisdemeanors. " 

November  21  a  resolution  was  passed  authorizing  the  tax  collector  "to  take 
all  money  that  is  at  par."  This  was  before  the  days  of  greenbacks  and  nat- 
ional bank  bills,  and  the  various  kinds  of  paper  money  then  in  circulation  were 
not  all  worth  their  face. 

April  24,  1863,  the  first  license  for  a  lirjuor  saloon  was  granted,  under  reg- 
ulations and  restrictions  already  prescribed  by  ordinance,  the  license  fee  being 
fixed  at  one  hundred  dollars  per  year,  payable  in  advance. 

October  9,  1865,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  was  voted 
to  Francis  Price,  a  civil  engineer  of  Vermilion  county,  "to  aid  him  in  j)ublish- 
ing  a  map  of  the  town  of  Paxton,"  he  to  furnish  the  board  twenty-five  sheet 
maps  arid  two  mounted  maps. 

August  4,  1866,  the  first  prohibitory  licpior  ordinance  was  passed.  At 
this  time  there  were  saloons  in  the  town  operating  under  license  previously 
obtained,  and  the  board  ordered  that  these  be  permitted  to  run  until  the  expir- 
ati(ui  of  the  time  for  which  their  licenses  were  granted.  From  the  time  when 
this  action  was  taken  until  the  succeeding  election,  the  saloon  (|uestion  attracted 
much  attention  and  discussion,  and  became  so  prominent  as  an  issue  that  the 
voters  at  the  next  election  were  given  an  opportunity  to  decide  by  ballot  for 
or  against  granting  saloon  licenses. 

At  the  first  city  election  held  September  5,  1872,  -John  Bodley  was  elected 
mayor;  James  S.  Wilson,  clerk;  Ij.  B.  Farrar,  attorney;  W.  Hoag,  treasurer; 
and  William  Harper,  George  Wright,  Samnel  L.  Day,  N.  Dahlgren,  G.  J.  Sliep- 
ardson  and  B.  F.  INIason,  aldermen. 

November  4  a  saloon  license  was  granted  to  A.  And(>rson,  being  the  fii-st 
issued  under  citv  organization. 


HISTORY   OP   FORD   COUNTY  85 

At  a  meeting  held  December  16  was  laid  the  foundation  for  the  expendi- 
ture of  several  thousand  dollars,  that  unfortunately  proved  a  worthless  invest- 
ment. Mayor  Bodley  informed  the  council  that  he  was  in  receipt  of  a  letter 
from  a  party  in  Chicago  proposing  to  bore  an  artesian  well  in  the  city  of  Pax- 
ton  if  the  people  so  desired.  This  announcement  brought  out  an  enthusiastic 
discussion,  that  was  indulged  in  by  spectators  as  well  as  aldermen.  The  min- 
utes of  this  meeting  record  the  fact  that  "Mr.  Dunlap,  of  Champaign,  was 
present,  and  made  some  interesting  remarks."  His  remarks  were  adverse  to 
the  project,  advising  the  board  that  it  was  a  hazardous  venture,  basing  his  opin- 
ion on  the  fact  that  Paxton  was  located  on  ground  so  high  that  flowing  artesian 
water  could  not  be  obtained,  and  cited  numerous  instances  of  failure  in  neigh- 
boring counties  where  the  ground  was  much  lower.  At  the  meeting  January 
6.  1873,  a  petition  was  read  praying  the  council  to  appropriate  eight  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars  "for  the  purpose  of  boring  or  sinking  an  artesian  well." 
This  petition  was  signed  by  two  hundred  and  ten  legal  voters,  which  was  a  large 
majority  of  the  voting  population,  there  being  at  that  time  less  than  three  hun- 
dred voters  in  the  city.  The  prayer  of  this  petition  was  granted,  and  an  ordi- 
nance passed  providing  for  the  issue  of  bonds  for  that  amount  and  for  that 
purpose. 

January  20,  1873,  the  artesian  well  cpiestion  came  up  again,  the  finance 
committee  reporting  several  proposals  for  sinking  such  a  well,  the  highest  bid 
being  eight  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  and  the  lowest  seven  thousand  dollars  in 
cash,  or  seven  thousand  four  hundred  dollars  in  bonds,  at  ninety-five  cents  on 
the  dollar,  all  being  for  boring  to  the  depth  of  sixteen  hundred  feet.  The 
liid  of  seven  thousand  four  hundred  dollars  on  bonds  at  ninety-five  cents  was 
accepted,  and  a  contract  ordered  to  be  drawn  up  ready  for  signatures  at  the 
next  meeting. 

February  4  was  passed  an  ordinance  providing  for  the  issue  of  bonds 
known  as  funded  debt  bonds,  to  the  amount  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  These 
bonds  were  in  sums  of  five  hundred  dollars  each,  bearing  interest  at  ten  per 
cent  from  March  1,  1874,  and  the  remainder  (five  hundred  dollars)  falling  due 
]\Iarch  1,  1875.  These  bonds  were  sold  by  the  finance  committee  at  a  discount 
of  five  per  cent,  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  the  redemption  of  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  outstanding  city  orders.  Of  the  bonds  thus  issued  the  first  two 
(one  thousand  dollars)  were  paid  June  1,  1874,  ninety  days  after  maturity, 
and  the  remaining  bond  for  five  hundred  dollars  was  paid  April  12,  1875, 
forty-two  days  after  maturity. 


86  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUxXTY 

March  3  an  ordinance  was  passed  locating  the  well  on  lot  14.  block  14,  sonth 
side  of  State  street,  between  IMarket  and  Taft  streets. 

October  20  a  petition,  signed  by  two  hundred  legal  voters,  was  submitted, 
praying  the  council  to  appropriate  an  additional  sum  of  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars in  bonds  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the  work  on  the  artesian  well 
beyond  the  depth  of  sixteen  hundred  feet.  This  was  granted  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  and  an  ordinance  was  passed  embodying  the  action  prayed  for  in  the  peti- 
tion, and  on  the  19tli  of  November  the  contract  was  let  to  Spangler,  ]\Iars  & 
Company,  and  ratified  January  5,  the  contractors  to  accept  city  bonds  at  ninety- 
five  cents  on  the  dollar. 

June  21  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  of  bonds  were  issued  to  con- 
tinue the  work  on  the  well.  When  the  previous  appropriation  of  seven  thou- 
sand dollars  was  made,  it  was  estimated  that  this  amount  would  carry  the  well 
to  a  depth  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet,  but  now  it  was  found  to  have 
been  insufficient. 

July  6,  the  board  adopted  a  resolution  suspending  the  work  on  the  well 
"until  such  time  as  the  boring  may  be  resvimed, "  and  a  settlement  was  then 
made  with  the  contractors.  The  well  was  down  to  the  depth  of  two  thousand 
four  hundred  and  seventy-three  and  a  half  feet.  In  just  two  days  after  the 
passage  of  this  resolution,  a  petition  signed  by  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  legal 
voters  was  submitted  to  the  council,  praying  that  work  on  the  well  be  resumed 
on  conditions  therein  named,  one  of  which  was  that  a  part  of  the  expense  be 
paid  by  private  subscriptions.  This  proposition  was  laid  over  until  an 
adjourned  meeting  held  the  next  night,  when  it  was  voted  to  sink  the  well  two 
hundred  feet  deeper,  for  which  the  remaining  one  thousand  dollars  of  bonds 
not  yet  expended  was  pledged  (being  a  part  of  the  previous  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  appropriated)  provided  the  citizens  should  raise  whatever  bal- 
ance was  necessary  to  satisfy  the  contractors.  This  was  done,  and  the  addi- 
tional two  hundred  feet  completed,  making  a  total  depth  of  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  seventy-three  and  a  half  feet,  and  still  no  flowing  water  obtained. 
The  project  was  then  abandoned  and  has  never  been  resumed. 

At  the  annual  election  held  April  17,  1883,  George  J.  Shepardson  war, 
elected  mayor;  George  A.  Hall,  clerk;  J.  R.  Patrick,  attorney;  Chai-les  II. 
Langford,  treasurer;  John  M.  Hall,  police  magistrate;  John  White,  alderman 
for  the  first  ward;  A.  S.  Hopkins  for  the  second,  and  George  Gove  for  the 
third.  At  a  meeting  of  the  council,  April  24,  an  ordinance  was  passed  consol- 
idating the  offices  of  city  marshal  and  street  superintendent,  and  on  the  3()tli 
of  this  month  George  N.  ^Miller  was  appointed  under  this  ordinance  to  fulfill 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  87 

the  duties  of  both  offices.  At  the  same  meeting-,  an  ordinaiK  e  was  passed  pro- 
viding for  the  appointment  of  a  city  pliysic-ian  to  advise  and  consult  with  the 
board  of  health,  and  on  ]\Iay  8  Dr.  Elmer  L.  Kelso  was  appointed  to  that  office. 
The  work  on  the  artesian  well  was  begun  ^larch,  1873.  The  fii-st  sixteen 
hundred  feet  was  completed  in  November,  1874,  and  the  final  depth  of  two 
thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-three  and  a  half  feet  was  reached  in  August, 
1875,  nearly  two  years  and  a  half  from  the  time  of  commencement.  The  work, 
however,  was  not  actively  progressing  during  all  this  time,  as  there  were  several 
intervals  of  rest  resulting  from  various  causes.  In  payment  of  this  work,  city 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  eighteen  thousand  dollars  were  issued,  in  sinus  of  five 
hundred  dollars  each,  all  bearing  ten  per  cent  interest.  On  these  bonds  the 
city  had  already  paid  fourteen  thousand  sixty-six  dollars  and  fourteen  cents 
of  interest,  and  there  remained  to  be  paid  in  yearly  installments,  up  to  1896 
inclusive,  interest  to  the  amount  of  nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  dol- 
lars, making  the  sum  of  twenty-three  thousand  two  hundred  and  twenly-six 
dollars  and  fourteen  cents  of  interest  from  1873  to  1896.  To  this  amount  add 
eighteen  thousand  dollars  of  principal,  and  nine  hundred  and  forty-five  dollars 
and  twenty-two  cents  of  sundry  incidental  expenses,  and  the  result  is  a  grand 
total  of  forty-two  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  dollars  and  thirty- 
six  cents,  representing  what  the  experiment  would  have  cost  when  the  last  item 
of  the  debt  was  paid  thirteen  years  afterward.  At  the  date  of  the  final  aban- 
donment of  the  well,  there  were  outstanding  bonds  to  the  full  amount  of  the 
appropriations,  eighteen  thousand  dollars,  of  which  eight  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  were  known  as  IMareh  bonds,  and  the  remaining  nine  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars  as  July  bonds,  indicating  the  months  in  which  the  principal  and 
interest  fell  due.  The  principal  of  the  March  bonds  began  to  mature  March 
1.  1879,  and  a  portion  of  them  each  year  thereafter  up  to  1883.  In  July, 
1878,  as  already  stated,  the  council  provided  for  refunding  the  ]\Iarch  bonds 
into  July  bonds,  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest  and  to  run  longer.  The  whole 
amount,  however,  was  not  refunded  at  that  time,  l)ut  oidy  the  amount  falling 
due  IMarch  1,  1879,  which  was  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  This  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  due  March  1,  1880,  and  the  fifteen  hundred  dollars  due  March  1,  1881, 
were  not  refunded.  ])nt  were  paid  by  general  taxation.  The  remaining  March 
bonds,  four  thousand  dollars  were  afterward  refunded  as  they  became  due. 
The  first  three  bonds,  fifteen  hundred  dollars  were  exchanged  for  bonds  drawing 
8  per  cent  interest,  and  the  remaining  four  thousand  dollars  for  6  per  cent 
bonds.  The  first  of  the  refunding  bonds  began  to  fall  due  July  1,  1893,  which 
was  one  year  beyond  the  date  when  the  last  of  the  original  July  bonds  would  fall 


88  HISTORY   OP   FORD   COUNTY 

due.  All  the  March  bonds  having  been  refunded,  all  the  obligations  then  out- 
standing were  July  bonds,  the  first  of  wliich  matured  July  1,  1884,  at  which 
time  one  thousand  dollars  of  them  would  be  due  and  payable,  and  a  tax  was 
levied  to  meet  it.  After  that  date,  bonds  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars 
matured  each  year  until  1892,  when  fifteen  hundred  dollars  became  due,  being 
the  last  of  the  ten  per  cent  bonds.  In  July,  1893,  the  eight  per  cent  bonds 
again  matured  in  similar  amounts,  and  lastly  the  six  per  cent  bonds,  a  portion 
payable  each  year,  until  the  last  one  matured,  July  1,  1896.  Of  the  March 
bonds  a  portion  (three  thousand  dollars)  had  been  paid  as  already  noted, 
which  left  fifteen  thousand  dollars  now  outstanding,  of  which  amount  the  origi- 
nal July  bonds  (nine  thousand  five  hundred)  bore  ten  per  cent  interest,  while  of 
the  refunding  bonds  (fifteen  hundred  dollars)  were  at  eight  per  cent  and  four 
thousand  dollars  at  six  per  cent,  and  hence  the  interest  paid  in  188-4  was  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  ten  dollars,  but  the  annual  interest  thereafter,  for 
several  years,  decreased  one  hundred  dollars  each  succeeding  year;  if  the  bonds 
were  paid,  one  thousand  dollars  yearly,  as  they  became  due,  from  1884  to  1896. 


PAXTON  WATERWORKS. 

The  city  of  Paxton  has  a  splendid  waterworks  system,  built  and  put  into 
operation  in  1887,  bonds  being  issued  at  that  time  to  the  amount  of  approximate- 
ly eight  thousand  dollars.  ]\Iains  have  been  extended  all  over  the  city  and  the 
patronage  is  very  satisfactory.  The  fire  protection  afforded  is  a  guarantee  to 
the  citizens  of  reasonable  safety,  and  lessens  insurance  rates  to  a  marked  degree. 

Three  deep  wells,  furnishing  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  soft  water,  have 
been  drilled,  and  three  electric  motors  are  used,  as  the  occasion  demands,  to  fill 
a  reservoir  that  has  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  gallons,  and 
a  tower,  with  tank  of  sixty  thousand  capacity. 

From  year  to  year  as  the  city  has  grown,  mains  have  been  laid  and  today, 
no  city  of  its  size  in  Illinois  has  a  better  waterworks  system  than  Paxton. 


PAVED    STREETS. 

Paxton  is  proud  of  her  paved  streets  and  in  lliat  connection,  it  may  be  said, 
she  has  more  paving  tlian  any  city  of  like  proportion  in  llie  whole  state  of 
Illinois.  The  people  of  Pa.xlon  liavc  a  lively  sense  of  the  beautiful.  They  love 
comfort  and  the  niodeni  (  onvciiicnccs  of  lire  They  en.jo\'  the  blessing  of  good 
health,  and  stop  at  no  expense  to  attain  these  things.       IIcik-c,  no  difficulty  was 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  91 

met  when  the  proposition  was  broached  in  the  spring  of  1903,  that  certain 
streets  of  the  city  shoulcl  be  paved.  July  6  of  that  year,  an  ordinance  was 
passed  for  the  paving,  with  brick,  of  Center  and  Washington  streets.  The  work 
was  accomplished  and  the  sum  of  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars  was  issiuul  in 
bonds  for  the  payment  of  the  same.  In  1904,  an  ordinance  was  passed  for  the 
paving  of  State  and  West  streets.  To  pay  for  this,  eighty-four  hundred  dollars 
in  l)()nds  were  issued.  Pells  street  came  next,  July  3,  1905,  and  bonds  for 
fifteen  thonsnnd  tliree  hundred  dollars  readily  found  a  market  and,  April  2, 
1906,  an  ordinance  was  passed  for  the  paving  of  IMarket,  Orleans  and  Patton 
streets,  the  cost  of  which  came  to  twenty-nine  thousand  seven  hundred  dollars, 
making  in  the  aggregate,  since  1903,  the  outlay  of  eighty  thousand  four  hundred 
dollars  for  street  paving. 

It  may  be  said  in  passing,  that  tlie  work  has  been  well  done  and  the  added 
convenience  and  beauty  to  the  city,  not  forgetting  the  sanitary  aspect  of  the 
matter  that  might  be  taken,  is  full  compensation  for  the  money  expended. 

JMention  in  this  connection  should  also  be  made  that  a  system  of  sewage 
has  been  placed  in  the  city,  costing  to  date  about  twenty  thousand  dollars. 


THE    CITY    HALL. 

In  1889  a  contract  was  let  to  N.  P.  Neilson,  of  Paxton,  to  build  a  city  hall 
which,  in  the  aggregate,  cost  six  thousand  dollars.  The  building  was  finished 
and  dedicated  in  the  spring  of  1900.  It  is  of  modern  architecture,  exteriorally ; 
has  a  large  and  commodious  council  chamber,  and  fireproof  vaults  for  the 
records  of  the  city.  Here  is  also  the  police  department,  and  the  hose  wagons 
and  other  paraphernalia  of  the  fire  department.  To  the  rear  of  the  main 
floor  is  the  waterworks  station.  The  arrangement  is  an  excellent  one,  both  for 
convenience  and  an  expense  saving  contrivance. 


THE    CARNEGIE    LIBRARY. 

E.  B.  Pitney  is  the  father  of  the  Carnegie  library.  It  was  his  idea  from 
the  beginning,  and  when  he  broached  the  subject  in  public,  he  was  put  down  as 
an  ultra-enthusiast.  It  happened,  however,  that  he  was  not  only  an  enthu- 
siast, but  also  was  in  possession  of  ideas  practical.  He  happened  to  have  a 
personal  actiuaintance  with  Mr.  Carnegie's  private  secretary,  and  he  wrote  him, 
in  an  inquiring  way,  and  at  once  got  a  reply,  in  which  he  was  given  the  assur- 
ance that  Mr.  Carnegie  would  give  Paxton  ten  thousand  dollars  on  condition 


92  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

that  llu'  citizens  would  guarantee  to  supply  a  fund,  not  less  than  ten  per  cent 
of  the  donation,  each  year,  to  maintain  the  library. 

In  February,  1903,  the  city  council  passed  an  ordinance  for  the  levying  of 
a  two-mill  tax  (annual)  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Carnegie  library.  At  a 
special  meeting  Mayor  M.  H.  Cloud  appointed  as  the  first  board  of  directors: 
II.  C.  Hall,  J.  B.  Shaw,  C.  A.  Larson,  M.  L.  McQuiston,  E.  Given,  0.  J.  Bai- 
tnim.  Fred  Danielson,  J.  F.  G.  Ilelmer  and  E.  B.  Pitney 

The  present  members  of  the  lioard  are  as  follows :  President,  O.  J.  Bai- 
num;  secretary,  E.  B.  Pitney;  treasurer,  J.  B.  Shaw;  ]\I.  L.  IMcQuiston,  C.  S. 
Schneider,  Fred  Danielson,  C.  A.  Larson,  John  F.  G.  Helmer,  P.  A.  Kemp. 

October  12,  1903,  the  corner  stone  of  the  beautiful  structure  was  laiil  on 
a  lot  seemingly  designed  for  the  purpose,  on  the  corner  of  Market  and  Orleans 
streets.  Mr.  Pitney  deposited  a  copper  box  therein,  closely  sealed,  containing 
coin,  newspapers  of  the  county,  a  bar  docket,  and  many  other  things  of  interest 
that  will  be  looked  upon  Avith  wonder  by  the  generation  seeing  the  last  of  the 
edifice. 

The  dedication  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1904,  and  the  exercises  were 
l)otli  interesting  and  instructive. 

The  first  books  were  donated  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  clnirch.  The 
library  now  has  four  thousand  five  hundred  volumes. 

Paxton  is  a  city  and  has  recently  taken  on  city  airs.  She  now  has  a  free 
(h'livery  of  mail,  with  three  carriers.  The  following  have  served  as  post- 
masters since  1884:  T.  ]\I.  King,  Mrs.  Georgia  E.  Blackstone,  E.  N.  Stevens, 
S.  L.  Day,  A.  E.  Sheldon,  and  D.  C.  Swanson,  the  present  postmaster. 


FFRE    COMPANY. 

Paxton  has  a  volunteer  fire  department  with  hook  and  ladder  and  wagon 
jiiid  hose  cart.  Chief,  Frank  Corbett;  assistant  chief,  George  Turner;  secre- 
tary, (ins  Younggreen ;  treasurer,  Fred  Labarn ;  and  the  membership:  Wil- 
li;nii  Stites,  John  Prestin,  Josei)h  Corbett,  John  Corbett,  Oscar  Nelson,  Gt>orge 
Pap])iii(';iii. 

Mayors  of  Paxton:  1884 — mayor,  G.  J.  She])ards()n,  clerk,  George  A. 
Ihill;  1886 — mayor,  G.  J.  Shepardson,  clerk,  E.  Dufresue;  1888 — mayor, 
J.  P.  IMiddlecoff,  clerk,  H.  II.  Kerr;  1890— mayor,  G.  J.  Shepardson,  clerk, 
II.  11.  Kerr;  1892— mayor,  John  H.  Moffett,  clerk,  IT.  II.  Kerr;  1893— 
mayor,  F.  E.  Boiuiey,  clerk,  D.  C.  Swanson ;  1894 — mayor,  F.  E.  Bonney, 
clerk,  D.  C.  Swanson;       1896 — mayor,  J.  P.  MiddleeofiP,  clerk,  D.  C.  Swanson; 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  93 

1898 — mayor,  R.  Cruzen,  clerk,  D.  C.  Swanson;  1900 — mayor,  R.  Cruzen. 
clerk,  U.  C.  Swanson;  1902 — mayor,  M.  II.  Cloud,  clerk,  D.  C.  Swanson; 
190-4 — mayor,  R.  Cruzen,  clerk,  E.  C.  Bogardus;  1906 — mayor,  A.  J.  Lau- 
rence, clerk,  E.  M.  Grayson;  1908— mayor,  C.  E.  Beach,  clerk,  E.  M. 
Grayson. 


GRANT    MEMORIAL    SERVICES. 

General  U.  S.  Grant  died  elnly  28,  1885.  Under  the  auspices  of  Paxton 
Post,  No.  387,  G.  A.  R.,  memorial  services  were  held  in  Paxton,  August  8.  of  the 
same  year,  in  honor  of  the  illustrious  soldier  and  statesman. 


COLLEGIATE     AND     NORMAL     INSTITUTE. 

The  collegiate  institute  was  Paxton 's  special  pride.  It  owed  its  origin, 
gradual  growth  and  high  standing  to  the  liberality  and  intelligence  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Paxton  and  vicinity.  The  first  move  made  toward  its  establishment 
was  to  discard  the  public  high  school,  and  hold  out  inducements  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  academy. 

In  the  autumn  of  1878  Rev.  C.  Thompson  Kellogg  opened  a  school  in  the 
buildings  formerly  used  by  the  Augustana  College.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
next  year,  the  school  was  started  by  Charles  M.  Taylor,  who  was  principal,  and 
continued  that  year  in  the  same  buildings.  During  the  summer  of  1880,  the 
corner  stone  of  the  magnificent  brick  structure  which  was  occupied  by  the 
school,  was  laid.  This  was  due  to  the  enterprise  of  the  principal  and  liber- 
ality of  the  community  who  contributed  several  hundred  dollars  toward  taking 
out  scholarships  and  tuition  certificates  to  the  amount  of  some  four  thousand 
dollars.  With  this  aid,  improvements  were  made,  and  the  college  was  one 
of  the  finest  in  eastern  Ilinois.  The  school  had  incorporated  in  its  foundation, 
principles  of  economy  and  thoroughness,  and  systematically  worked  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  both.  There  was,  perhaps,  not  a  school  in  the  country 
where  expenses  were  as  low,  and  the  standard  of  scholarship  was  rivaled  at 
very  few  places.  The  moral  atmosphere  was  exceptionally  good.  No  person 
was  allowed  to  remain  in  the  institution  who  did  not  devote  himself  to  school 
work.  While  the  discipline  was  in  a  sense  most  rigid,  it  was  purely  demo- 
cratic. The  principal  was  not  regarded  a  tyrant  nor  the  faculty  a  set  of  des- 
pots; neither  did  the  pupils  take  delight  in  tormenting,  or  in  getting  ahead 
of  their  teachers.       Pupils  were  received  as  ladies  and  gentlemen,   and  when 


94  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

they  showed  themselves  not  so,  they  were  dismissed.  J'areiits  coiieerned  in  the 
harmonious  development  of  their  children's  physical,  mental  and  moral  condi- 
tion could  not  have  found  a  better  place. 

This  institution  went  out  of  existence  in  1901. 


BUSINESS  INTERESTS. 

Paxton  was  never  in  a  more  solid  and  flourishing  condition  than  at  pres- 
ent. Its  citizens  are  prosperous  and  manifest  a  great  dea'I  of  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  this  town.  A  number  of  wealthy  and  substantial  farmers  have 
moved  here  from  the  adjacent  country  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  for  their 
children  the  benefits  of  the  schools.  Paxton  is  conceded  to  have  no  superior 
as  a  town  for  the  social  and  neighborly  qualities  of  its  citizens.  The  greatest 
harmony  prevails  and  the  interests  of  all  converge  to  th.e  welfare  of  this  little 
city. 


FIRST     NATIONAL     BANK. 

The  first  banking  business  was  conducted  by  the  Ford  County  and  First 
National  Banks.  The  Ford  County  Bank  was  the  first  and  pioneer  bank  of 
the  county,  and  was  opened  for  business  in  the  house  owned  by  A.  IMcElroy 
on  Market  street,  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1866,  by  S.  J.  Toy,  who  came  from 
Champaign  county.  In  the  spring  of  1867,  he  moved  into  Pells'  block.  On 
the  1st  day  of  August,  1868,  A.  C.  Thompson,  but  recently  from  Pennsylvania, 
joined  Mr.  Toy  in  the  banking  business,  putting  in  an  ('((ual  amount  of  capital. 
In  the  spring  of  1869  they  broke  ground  for  their  new  bank  building,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year  moved  into  their  new  quarters,  where  they  continued 
business  together  for  about  three  years  under  the  firm  name  of  Toy  &  Thonqi- 
son.  November  1,  1871,  S.  J.  Toy,  A.  C.  Thompson,  Robert  Blackstock,  Edwin 
Rice  and  C.  E.  Henderson  organized  the  First  National  Bank  of  Paxton,  Illi- 
nois, with  a  caj)ital  of  fifty  thousand  dollai-s.  A.  C.  Thoini)S()n  was  made 
president,  and  S.  J.  Toy,  casliier.  Mr.  Toy  held  that  position  until  tlie  si)riiig 
of  1874,  when  he  sold  out  his  interest  to  J.  M.  Clevengei",  and  Robert  Blackstock 
was  made  cashier.  The  l)ank  continued  business  until  the  10th  of  February, 
1876,  when  they  closed  o\it  by  voluntary  liciuidatioii.  After  which,  A.  C. 
Thompson,  Robert  Blackstock  and  W.  M.  Blackstock  organized  the  Ford  County 
Bank  of  Thompson,  Blackstock  &  Compnay,  successors  to  the  First  National 
Bank,  which  continued  under  their  management  until  the  15th  of  April,  188:^, 


HISTORY  OF   FORD   COUNTY  95 

iit  wliicli  tiiiie  Mr.  Blackstock  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  on  the  3d  of  May 
following,  Edwin  Rice,  a  prominent  and  well  known  business  man  of  Paxton, 
to(^k  a  third  interest  in  the  bank,  which  run  under  the  same  firm  name.  These 
gentlemen  were  well  known  for  their  obliging  manners  and  financial  responsi- 
bility. The  First  National  Bank  was  organized  in  1883,  with  S.  P.  Bushnell, 
president ;  J.  S.  Wilson,  vice  president,  and  J.  B.  Shaw,  cashier,  and  A.  S. 
Bushnell,  assistant  cashier.  They  commenced  business  May  7,  1883,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  have  established  a  good  reputation. 
In  the  fall  of  1883,  Mr.  Wilson  withdrew  from  the  bank,  and  John  P.  Day 
was  elected  in  his  place  as  vice  president.  This  bank  is  a  successor  of  George 
Wright,  who  kept  a  private  bank  here  for  many  years.  This  bank  is  doing 
a  successful  business,  and  enjoys  the  entire  confidence  of  the  people.  Its  pres- 
ent officers  are  J.  B.  Shaw,  president ;  E.  A.  Gardner,  vice  president ;  William 
H.  AVhite,  cashier;  and  II.  B.  Shaw,  assistant  cashier.  The  capital  and  sur- 
plus of  the  bank,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


PAXTON     BANK. 

The  Paxton  Bank  was  organized  in  1894  by  W.  A.  Rankin,  B.  II.  Dun- 
ham and  W.  J.  Lateer.  It  is  a  private  institution.  Capital  and  surplus 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  W.  A.  Rankin,  the  president,  B.  H.  Dunham, 
vice  president,  W.  J.  Lateer,  cashier,  and  0.  J.  Egnall,  assistant  cashier. 


THE      PAXTON    BUILDING,    LOAN    AND    SAVINGS    ASSOCIATION. 

The  Paxton  Building,  Loan  and  Savings  Association  was  organized  Jan- 
uary 29,  1883,  with  a  capital  stock  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  divided 
into  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars  each.  The  object  of  the  association  is  to 
afford  its  members  a  safe  and  profitable  investment  for  their  weekly  savings ; 
to  facilitate  their  acquiring  homesteads  and  to  secure  to  them  the  advantages 
usually  expected  from  savings  and  cooperative  institutions.  The  duration  of 
the  corporation  is  twent>'-five  years.  The  corporate  powers  are  exercised  by 
a  board  of  directors.  Its  offices  consist  of  president,  vice  president,  secretary 
and  treasurer.  Each  stockholder  for  each  and  every  share  of  stock  held  by 
him,  pavs  to  the  secretarv  everv  Saturdav,  the  Aveeklv  contribution  of  twelve 
and  a  lialf  cents  on  each  share  he  holds,  until  each  share  reaches  a  value  of 
one  hundred  dollars,  wdien  such  stockholder  is  entitled  to  one  hundred  dollars 
for  each  share  owned  by  him.      No  member  is  entitled  to  more  than  fifty  shares. 


96  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

Any  member  can  withdraw  at  any  time  l)y  ^ivint^  tlue  notice  and  be  entitled 
to  receive  the  amount  paid  in  hy  liim.  and  such  interest  thereon  or  proportion 
of  profits  thereon  as  the  board  of  directors  sliall  prescribe,  and  not  less  than 
an  amount  equal  to  four  per  ceut  interest  on  the  amount  of  dues  paid  in  for 
the  average  time. 


P.VXTON  BRICK  &   TILE   COMPANY. 

The  Paxton  Brick  &  Tile  Company  was  organized  and  incorporated  April 
1,  1882,  with  the  following  stockholders:  Colonel  Charles  Bogardus,  A.  ]M. 
Daggett,  F.  L.  Cook,  J.  P.  Middlecotf,  of  Paxton,  and  P.  Whitmer,  of  Bloom- 
ington.  The  factory  is  located  on  College  Hill,  within  the  corporate  limits  of 
Paxton,  and  on  the  highest  point  of  land  between  Chicago  and  Cairo.  They 
have  a  deposit  of  fine  clay  reaching  to  a  depth  of  sixteen  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. The  quality  of  this  clay  is  not  excelled  for  the  purpose  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  brick. 


THE     PAXTON     BUGGY     COMPANY 

In  1898,  I.  N.  Cool,  whose  business  as  a  buggy  manufacturer  liad  outgrown 
his  facilities  at  Logansport,  Indiana,  came  to  Paxton,  by  invitation  of  its  citi- 
zens, and  was  installed  in  a  large,  three-story  brick  building,  the  gift  of  the 
business  men  and  property  owners  of  Paxton.  In  tliis  modern  factory  build- 
ing, Mr.  Cool  set  up  the  latest  improved  machinery,  which  made  the  cost  of  the 
entire  plant  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

The  capacity  of  this  concern  was  five  thousand  vehicles  per  year,  and  the 
output  found  a  ready  market.  But,  through  the  failure  of  the  chief  factor 
in  the  concern,  the  plant  went  into  liquidation  and  passed  into  the  hands  of 
other  parties,  who  gave  it  the  name  of  The  Paxton  Buggy  Company.  It  was 
only  a  short  time  when  this  company  went  out  of  business,  and  the  factory 
building  reverted  to  the  donors,  who  have  made  arrangements  to  turn  it  over  to 
the  present  occupants.  The  E.  li.  Stafford  Furniture  Company,  when  the  latter 
shall  have  complied  with  certain  conditions  obligatory  on  their  part  to  fulfill. 


THE     PAXTON     C-INNING     FACTORY. 

Through  the  efforts  of  J.  P.  Middlecoff,  R.  Cruzen  and  others,  a  company 
was  formed  in  1888,  and  the  Paxton  Canning  Factory  was  built  and  started 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  1)7 

operations.  This  became  one  of  the  important  industrial  institutions  of  the 
county  and  today,  when  the  season  opens,  gives  employment  to  about  t^vo 
hundred  people.  The  chief  products  of  the  concern  are  red  kidney  beans  and 
select  sugar  corn.  Some  years  ago  the  concern  ceased  to  be  a  stock  company 
and  went  into  the  hands  of  R.  Cruzen,  his  brother,  J.  E.  Cruzen,  and  W.  M. 
Wilson.  The  plant  is  a  large  one,  the  buildings  of  brick  and  the  ground  space 
covers  a  block.     The  equifiment  is  modern  and  the  product  finds  a  ready  market. 


FURNITURE  MANUFACTORY. 

The  large  building,  formerly  the  home  of  the  Paxton  l^uggy  Company,  was 
installed  with  the  machinery  and  material  of  the  E.  H.  Stafford  Manufacturing 
Company,  of  Chicago,  in  1907.  This  concern  is  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind 
in  the  country,  and  has  its  main  factory  at  Albion,  INIichigan.  The  products  of 
the  plant  here  are  various  kinds  of  furniture.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men  are  employed. 


PAXTON      BROOM      FACTORY. 

The  broom  factory  of  Paxton  has  been  in  existence  for  many  years,  but 
not  until  recently  has  it  been  in  cjuarters  adequate  for  the  business  accomplished. 

In  the  fall  of  1907,  S.  H.  Hill,  the  proprietor,  through  the  efforts  and 
assistance  of  the  Retail  Merchants'  Association,  was  enabled  to  occupy  a  large 
and  commodious  new  two-story  brick  building  and  now,  with  improved  ma- 
chinery, the  concern  is  employing  thirty  people,  and  turning  out  an  article  that 
finds  a  ready  market. 

THE      KRAMER     ROTARY     HARROW      COMPANY. 

Paxton  has  a  harrow  manufactory  which  was  established  in  1906,  by  the 
E.  ]\I.  Kramer  Company,  which  was  induced  to  locate  in  the  city  by  the  Retail 
IMerchants'  Association.  This  concern  is  occupying  space  in  the  Paxton  Hard- 
ware Manufactory  building,  but  has  good  prospects  of  having  suitable  cpiarters 
of  its  own.      Thirty  people  are  in  the  employ  of  this  company. 

THE      MIDDLECOFF. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Paxton  and  the  increase  of  her  l)usiness  establishments 
made  it  imperative  that  larger  and  better  hotel  facilities  should  be  provided  for 


98  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

the  traveling  commercial  man  and  visitors  to  the  ( ity.  Several  of  the  influen- 
tial men  of  Paxton  had  long  determined  that  a  modern  caravansary  was  none 
too  good  for  the  county  seat  and,  in  the  fall  of  1895,  a  meeting  was  called  by 
J.  P.  Middlecoff,  C.  Bogarclus  and  others,  and  the  Paxton  Hotel  Company  was 
organized.  A  board  of  directors  M^as  chosen  of  the  following  personnel:  J.  P. 
Middlecofle,  C.  Bogardus,  Geo.  H.  Proctor,  J.  B.  Shaw.  W.  J.  Lateer,  F.  E. 
Bonney  and  C.  A.  Larson.  President,  J.  P.  JMiddlecoff;  vice  president,  AV.  J. 
Lateer;  secretary,  F.  p].  Bonney;  treasurer,  J.  B.  Shaw. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  year  the  l)uilding  was  under  course  of  con- 
struction. The  plans  had  been  drawn  by  0.  Moratz,  of  Bloomington,  and 
contract  let  to  N.  P.  Neilson,  of  Paxton.  In  the  fall  of  1896,  the  magnificent 
structure  was  completed,  at  a  cost  of  thirty-six  tliousand  dollars,  including  the 
site. 

The  Middlecoff  is  modern  in  structure  and  its  appointments.  Is  three 
stories  in  height  and  has  a  basement,  which  is  given  over  to  sample  rooms  for 
commercial  travelers.  The  north  and  west  fronts  are  of  red  pressed  brick, 
trimmed  in  stone.  The  hostelry  was  opened  by  George  A.  Proctor.  William 
Elder,  formerly  of  the  Paxton  House,  is  the  present  landlord. 


PAXTON    HOTEL. 

The  Paxton  Hotel  was  formally  opened  January  21,  1886.  About  four 
hundred  people  were  present  at  the  banquet  given  on  tlie  occasion  by  Henry 
Weaver,  the  proprietor.  Speeches  were  made  of  a  congratulat(U\v  nature.  l)y 
A.  C.  Thompson  of  the  Ford  County  Bank ;  Judge  A.  Sample,  Dr.  R.  N.  Davies, 
Hon.  0.  D.  Sackett,  B.  F.  Mason,  Hon.  J.  P.  Middlecoff,  J.  E.  Lewis  of  Fairbury; 
and  W.  S.  Richards  of  Kankakee.  These  were  supplemented  by  addresses 
from  Mesdames  Garrett,  Cook,  Sample  and  G.  E.  Abbott.  The  liotel  at  th(^ 
time  was  considered  one  of  the  best  in  this  section  of  the  state  and  now,  after 
being  vacant  some  while,  is  again  catering  to  the  needs  of  the  public. 


RETAIL    merchants'    ASSOCIATION    OF    PAXTON. 

On  the  evening  of  March  20,  1902,  a  meeting  of  importance  1o  tlie  city  oi' 
Paxton,  was  held  in  its  city  hall,  and  the  business  men  of  the  place  evinced 
their  interest  in  tlie  purposes  of  the  gathering  by  atteiuling.  Paxton  had, 
apparently,  become  inert;  was  not  moving  and  keeping  pace  with  her  sister 
cities.      The  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  stir  up  the  business  men  of  the  town 


:middlecoff  hotel,  paxton 


HISTORY   OF   FORD    COUNTY  101 

and  awaken  them  to  the  fact  that  a  systematic  effort  should  be  put  forth  to 
induce  outsiders  seekino-  a  location  to  come  to  Paxton.  At  a  subsequent. meeting 
the  Retail  Merchants'  Association  was  organized  and  F.  E.  Bonney  was  made 
its  president,  Geo.  R.  llapp,  vice  president,  F.  M.  Thompson,  secretary.  Since 
that  time,  Paxton  has  gone  forward  and  has  today,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  association,  industries  that  are  beneficial  to  the  community,  and  bid  fair 
to  being  a  good  investment  to  the  city.  The  members  of  the  Retail  Merchants' 
Association  are  men  of  energy,  enterprise  and  of  public  spirit,  and  the  associa- 
tion in  its  endeavors,  is  meeting  with  general  approval  and  support  from  the 
public.  Present  officers :  T.  J.  Vimont,  president ;  D.  G.  Bailey,  vice  president ; 
E.  T.  Froyd,  treasurer  and  secretary. 


MOUNT     OLIVET     COMMANDERY     BLOCK. 

The  corner  stone  of  the  Masonic  block,  a  large  three-story  building  on  the 
corner  of  Market  and  State  streets,  was  laid  with  impressive  rites  on  the  evening 
of  July  30,  1885.  The  dedication  took  place,  followed  by  a  banquet  to  eminent 
Sir  Knights,  October  21,  1886. 


THE    HOME    CULTURE    CLUB. 

An  association  of  women,  with  the  title  as  shown  in  the  caption  of  this 
article,  was  formed  in  Paxton  m  1894,  and  is  today  the  only  one  of  its  kind  in 
Ford  county.  Mrs.  J.  W.  Reed  and  INIrs.  William  Happ,  no  longer  residents 
of  that  city,  were  the  promoters  of  the  society,  and  with  them  were  Mesdames 
S.  M.  Wylie,  0.  H.  Wylie,  Ernest  D.  Given,  A.  Coomes  and  E.  A.  Gardner. 
Present  officers:  Mrs.  E.  A.  Gardner,  president;  Mrs.  D.  P.  McCracken,  vice 
president;  Mrs.  E.  L.  Morgan,  secretary;  IMiss  E.  F.  Meharry,  corresponding 
secretary;  Mrs.  E.  Thompson,  treasurer;  Mrs.  A.  F.  Trams,  critic. 

The  purposes  of  organization  have  been  for  higher  literary  culture  and 
belle  lettres.  The  association  was,  until  1896,  an  independent  club,  Init  in  that 
year  it  was  federated  with  the  state  organization.  There  is  now  a  membership 
of  twenty-three. 


SOCIETIES    AND   FRATERNITIES   OF    PAXTON. 

Mt.  Olivet  Commandery,  No.  *38,  K.  T. 
May  9,  1870,  Charles  Edward  Munger,  grand  commander,  granted  a  dis- 
pensation for  this  commandery  to  the  following  named  Sir  Knights: 


1U2  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Solomon  -Jacol)  Toy.  CliMi'lcs  Henry  Hawlcx'.  .)(»slnKi  Eaton  Davis,  Benjamin 
Franklin  ^lason,  Allen  SlieiHirdson,  Julius  Wallace  Scott,  Thomas  Evan  Barn- 
house,  Wilson  Hoag.  Geoi-uc  Jeremiah  Shepardson. 

First  conclave  was  held  on  the  5th  day  of  Au;4\ist.  A.  L).,  1870,  in  J.  W. 
Scott 's  Hall. 

October  21,  A.  D.,  1S70,  Solomon  Jacob  Toy,  E.  C,  conferred  the  orders 
on  Jonathan  T'enn  IMiddlecoff,  Norman  Edmund  Stevens.  Ransom  Reed  IMurdock. 
Til  I've  S.  Johnson.  William  Lewis.  Finley  I\IcClellan  Hall. 

Date  of  charter,  October  26,  A.  D.,  1870;  constituted,  January  25,  A.  D., 
1871,  by  Eminent  Sir  Francis  Granger  Jaques  acting  as  proxy  for  the  grand 
commander  of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

Past  commanders :  Solomon  J.  Toy,  1870-73 ;  Jonathan  P.  ]\Iiddlecoff, 
1873-75,  77-79;  Benjamin  F.  Mason,  1875-77;  George  J.  Shepardson,  1879-8-1; 
John  U.  Hanley,  1884-86;  Samuel  J.  LeFevre,  1886-87;  Robert  S.  Hall,  1887-88, 
89-90;  John  S.  Ilewins,  1888-89;  Charles  H.  Yeomans,  1890-91;  Allen  S. 
Bushnell,  1891-95,  97-98;  Edward  A.  Gardner,  1895-97;  Charles  H.  Laugford, 
1898-99  ;George  H.  Proctor,  1899-1901;  Harry  B.  Henderson,  1901-02;  George  W. 
Youn-green.  1902-03;  Reuben  J.  Atwood,  1903-04;  Murray  E.  Hunt,  1904-06 
John  D.  Schwimnier,  19()(i-0S. 

Present  officers:  John  D.  Sclnvinuner,  E.  C,  Askel  R.  Sheldon,  general; 
William  Albert  Pfeiifer.  C.  G. ;  Abel  A.  Hanson,  S.  W. ;  Rufus  Keator,  J.  W. ; 
^Murray  E.  Hunt,  prelate;  William  B.  Henderson,  treasurer;  Reuben  J.  Atwood, 
i-ecorder;  Samuel  M.  Newlin.  St.  P>. ;  Herman  A.  Nelson,  Sw.  B. ;  Thomas  Galla- 
gher, warder;  Gustavus  A.  Younggreen,  sentinel. 

Present  membership,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  Sir  Knights. 

Stated  conclaves  are  held  on  iho  first  and  third  Thursdays  of  each  month 
The  annual  conclave  is  tlie  (ii'st  stated  conclave  in  June. 

During  the  spring  of  1885  the  (juestion  of  building  a  Masonic  tem])le  was 
hi'ought  before  th<'  coiiiiiiandei-y.  A  committee  consisting  of  Sir  Knights  J.  P. 
INIiddlecoff,  C.  M.  Tayloi-.  George  Grove  and  J.  Y.  Cam{)bell  were  appointed  to 
investigate  aiul  to  report  as  to  the  cost  of  a  suitable  building.  At  a  sul)se(iuent 
conclave  they  reported  i)lans  and  estimates.  It  was  voted  1o  build  and  the  com- 
nn'ttee  on  estimate  Avas  constituted  a  l)uilding  committee  with  powei-  to  make 
colli r'acts,  sell  hoiids,  pay  out  iiioiiey,  elc.  in  the  name  of  the  conunandery.  In 
June,  1885,  the  ground  was  hi'oken  and  the  building  lU'ogressed  as  rapidly  as 
possible  and  was  finally  c()mi)leted  at  a  cost  of  about  lwent\'  Ihousaud  dollars. 

In  1889  tli<"  coiiiiiiandery  directed  the  ti'ustees  to  sell  all  of  the  building 
below  the  tliii-d  stoi'\'  resei'\'ing  a   perpetual   right  of  ingress  and  egress  to  said 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  103 

third  story,  which  was  done.       Since  tlien  about  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  has 
been  expended  in  improvements  in  iho  asylum  rooms. 

At  this  date  th(^  asylum  is  owned  by  the  eommandery,  the  commandery  is 
free  from  indebtedness  and  has  about  two  thousand  dollars  in  the  treasury  and 
an  income  of  about  four  hundred  dollars  per  year  from  the  rent  of  the  asjdum 
rooms  to  the  other  JMasonie  bodies  in  Paxton. 


PAXTON  LODGE,  NO.  416,  ANCIENT  FREE  &  ACCEPTED  MASONS. 

Date  of  Charter,  October  5th,  1864. 

Charter  members,  L.  A.  Barber,  J.  O.  Young,  Fred  Cloyes,  James  F.  Hall, 
Charles  ]\r.  Oakley,  II.  A.  Kelso,  John  P.  Day.  P.  W.  Cooley,  W.  H.  Patton, 
T.  L.  Miller,  R.  R.  IMurdock,  J.  G.  Cloyes,  S.  L.  Day,  J.  Covalt,  M.  M.  Davison, 
J.  E.  Davis,  Wm.  Davis.  D.  R.  Richards,  Jr.,  Nathan  Simons,  and  A.  J.  Lyon. 

First  officers,  L.  A.  Barber,  W.  M. ;  J.  0.  Young,  S.  W. ;  Fred  Cloyes,  J.  W. 

The  original  charter  and  the  early  records  of  the  lodge  were  destroyed  by 
fire  October  4,  1874. 

Names  of  past  masters:  L.  A.  Barber,  1864;  J.  O.  Young,  1865-66;  Wilson 
Iloag,  1867-71;  Benj.  F.  Mason,  1872-76,  79-80,  1884;  Alfred  Sample,  1877-78; 
Robert  S.  Hall,  1881-83,  1885-86 ;  Franc  L.  Cook,  1887 ;  Allen  S.  Bushnell  1888 ; 
Chas.  H.  Langford,  1889-90;  Edw.  A.  Gardner,  1891-92,  1894,  1898;  Frederick 
E.  Bonuey,  1893,  1899 ;  Harry  B.  Henderson,  1895-97,  1901 ;  Harry  W.  Mason, 
1900;  Reuben  J.  Atwood,  1902;  I\Iurray  E.  Hunt,  1903;  John  P.  Irwin,  1904; 
George  W.  Younggreen,  1905 ;  John  D.  Schwimmer,  1906 ;  Robt.  B.  Coddington, 
1907. 

Present  Officers,  1908:  Nels  Larson,  W.  :\I. ;  Leonidas  J.  Ireland,  S.  W. ; 
William  B.  Henderson,  J.  W. ;  Nels  Younggreen,  treasurer ;  Reuben  J.  Atwood, 
secretary;  Clifford  E.  Beach,  S.  D. ;  Edward  B.  Pitney,  J.  D. ;  Samuel  Newlin, 
chaplain;  Robert  B.  Coddington,  marshal;  Daniel  G.  Bailey,  S.  S. ;  Gustavus 
A.  Younggreen,  J.  S. ;  Frank  Corbett,  organist ;  William  W.  Reser,  tyler. 

]\Iembership  on  jMay  18,  1908,  one  hundred  and  thirteen. 

Stated  communications  are  held  on  the  second  and  fourth  Tuesdays  of  each 
month.       The  first  stated  communication  in  June  is  the  annual  communication. 

The  following  is  self-explanatory : 


104  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

May  22,  1908. 
Dr.  R.  J.  Atwood, 
Paxton,  III, 
Dear  Brother : — 

The  records  of  the  office  of  the  grand  secretary  having  been  destroyed 
l)y  fire  in  1870  I  can  find  nothing  whatever  about  the  dispensation,  either  when 
granted  or  its  officers.    The  officers  of  the  lodge  in  1864  were  as  follows : 

N.  Simons,  treasurer;  J.  F.  Hall,  secretary;  J.  J.  Simons,  S.  D. ;  T.  L.  Miller, 
J.  D. ;  C.  I\I.  Oakley,  S.  S. ;  J.  P.  Day,  J.  S. ;  Rev.  M.  M.  Davison,  chaplain ;  P. 
W.  Cooley,  tyler. 

With  kind  regards,  your  truly, 

Isaac  Cutter, 


Grand  Secretary. 

FORD   CHAPTER,   NO.    113,   ROYAL   ARCH   MASONS. 

On  February  28,  1867,  the  Most  Excellent  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of 
Illinois  issued  a  dispensation  to  companions  Solomon  J.  Toy,  "William  II. 
Bradley,  L.  T.  Hewins,  S.  M.  Newlin,  Wilson  Hoag,  M.  E.  Wandell,  Isaac  Cross, 
J.  C.  Young,  and  A.  Cross  empowering  said  companions  to  form  and  open  a 
chapter  after  the  manner  and  form  of  Royal  Arch  IMasons  to  be  known  as  Ford 
Chapter  U.  D.  and  to  confer  the  degrees  of  the  chapter. 

The  first  convocation  of  Ford  Chapter  IJ.  D.  was  held  in  Paxton  on  April 
3,  1867.  G.  J.  Shepardson,  R.  C.  Christian  and  E.  L.  Clark  were  the  first  three 
to  receive  the  Royal  Arch  degree. 

Officers  of  Ford  Chapter  U.  D.,  S.  J.  Toy,  M.  E.  II.  P.;  Wilson  Hoag,  king: 
L.  T.  Ilewins,  scribe;  G.  J.  Slici)hardson,  C.  II.;  Samuel  i\I.  Newlin,  P.  S. ;  R.  C. 
Christian,  R.  A.  C. ;  Allen  Shepardson,  G.  M.  3d  V. ;  el.  W.  Scott,  G.  M.  2d  V. ; 
J.  Y.  Campbell,  G.  I\I.  1st  V. ;  R  R  Murdock,  treasurer;  E.  L.  Clark,  secretary; 
T.  E.  Barnhous(\  sentinel. 

Date  (.f  cliartcr,  Oct()])er  4,  1867. 

Charter  members  of  Fortl  Chai)tcr,  No.  113,  Ro\al  Arch  Masons:  Rohmd 
C.  Christian,  Eugene  B.  Ilill,  R.  R.  IMurdock,  William  Lewis,  (!.  J.  Shei)ardson, 
Thos.  E.  Barnhouse,  John  J.  Siiiioiis.  Wilson  Hoag,  S.  J.  Toy,  L.  T.  Hewins,  J. 
P.  Middlccoff,  F.  1).  Matchet,  J.  W.  Scott,  N.  E.  Stevens,  S.  M.  Newlin,  -1.  Y. 
Campbell,  Isaac  Barker,  E.  L.  Clark. 

The  chapter  was  constituted  Octobei-  10,  lS(i7,  l)y  R.  E.  G.  Scribe  A.  A. 
Murray  with  the  following  officers:  S.  J.  Toy,  I\l.  E.  II.  P. ;  AVilson  Hoag,  E.  king; 


IILSTOKY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  105 

L.  T.  Hewiiis,  E.  Scribe;  G.  J.  Shepardson,  C.  II.;  Samuel  M.  Newlin,  P.  S. ;  R. 
C.  Christian,  R.  A.  C. ;  J.  W.  Scott,  G.  M.  3d  V. ;  N.  E.  Stevens,  G.M.  2d  V. ;  E. 
B.  Hill,  G.  M.  1st  v.;  R.  R.  Murdock,  treasurer;  0.  B.  Taft,  secretary;  T.  E. 
Barnhouse,  sentinel. 

Past  high  priests  of  Ford  Chapter,  No.  113,  R.  A.  M.:  S.  J.  Toy,  1867-72; 
Wilson  Hoag,  1873 ;  G.  J.  Shepardson,  1874-76,  78-84 ;  Wm.  Noel,  1877 ;  Benja- 
min F.  Mason,  1885-87,  1891-94;  Samuel  Newlin,  1888-90,  95-96,  1902,  1906-07; 
Frederick  E.  Bonney,  1897-98;  Edward  A.  Gardner,  1899-li)()0;  C.  II.  Latigford, 
1901 ;  Reuben  J.  Atwood,  1903 ;  John  D.  Schwimmer,  1904-05. 

Present  officers,  1908:  Murray  E.  Hunt,  E.  II.  P.;  William  A.  Pfeiffer, 
king;  Thomas  Gallagher,  scribe;  Nels  Larson,  treasurer;  Reuben  J.  Atwood, 
secretary;  Frank  M.  Corlies,  chaplain;  Samuel  M.  Newlin,  C.  H. ;  John  D. 
Schwimmer,  P.  S. ;  Frederick  E.  Bonney,  R.  A.  C. ;  Harry  B.  Henderson,  M.  3d 
V. ;  Abel  A.  Hanson,  M.  2d  V. ;  Daniel  G.  Bailey,  M.  1st  V. ;  Ivus  L.  Atwood. 
steward;  Gustavus  A.  Younggreen,  sentinel. 

Membership  on  May  18,  1908,  one  hundred  and  thirteen. 

Stated  convocations  are  held  on  the  second  and  fourth  Thursdays  of  each 
month.       The  first  stated  convocation  in  June  is  the  annual  convocation. 


PAXTON  LODGE,   NO.   418,   I.   O.   0.    F. 

Paxton  Lodge,  No.  418,  I.  0.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  at  Paxton,  Illinois,  Nov- 
ember 17,  1892,  with  nine  charter  members,  as  follows : 

W.  T.  Troughton,  P.  G.,  N.  Younggreen,  J.  F.  Heritage,  Arthur  Dillon,  T. 
W.  Talley,  R.  S.  Hall,  P.  G.,  F.  B.  Fagerberg,  N.  E.  Stevens  and  E.  B.  Pitney. 

First  officers:  R.  S.  Hall,  N.  G.,  E.  B.  Pitney,  secretary;  W.  T.  Troughton. 
V.  G. 

The  present  membership  consists  of  182  members. 

Present  officers:  John  A.  Swanson,  N.  G. ;  W.  E.  Carrington,  V.  G. ;  W.  W. 
Reser,  secretary. 

R.    S.    HALL   ENCAMPMENT,    NO.    172,    OF    T.    O.    O.    P. 

R.  S.  Hall  Encampment,  No.  172,  of  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  at  Paxton, 
Illinois,  November  15,  1904,  by  Gustaf  J.  Johnson,  witli  thirty-  three  charter 
members. 

First  officers :  C.  A.  Brooks,  C.  P. ;  C.  F.  Graham,  II.  P. ;  C.  F.  Lund,  S.  W. ; 
0.  W.  Linstrom,  scribe;  Frank  Corbett,  treasurer. 


106  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  present  membership  is  one  hundred  and  forty  mcmljers. 
Present  officers:  0.  E.  Nelson,  C.  P.;  W.  G.  T.  Baker,  S.  W. ;  W.  AV.  Reser, 
scribe;  Alfred  Meis,  treasurer;  W.  D.  Wimer,  II.  P.;  A.  T.  Carlson.  J.  AV. 

PAXTON    CAMP,    NO.    259,    JI.    W.    A. 

Paxton  Camp,  No.  259,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  was  organized  Octo- 
ber 27.  1886. 

First  officers:  Consul,  M.  li.  Cloud,;  worthy  adviser,  W.  TI.  Hunter;  clerk, 
E.  N.  Stevens;  banker,  A.  Coomes;  escort,  J.  W.  Reed;  watchman,  AV.  Hopkins; 
sentry,  C.  F.  Morgan. 

Managers:  S.  M.  Wylie;  A.  Dillon. 

Present  officers:  Consul,  O.  J.  Bainum;  worthy  adviser,  C.  0.  Stone;  clerk, 
M.  Dorsey ;  banker,  S.  A.  Hancock ;  escort,  Orville  A.  Archer ;  watchman,  Elmer 
Rodeen ;  sentry,  George  Luxton. 

Managers:  C.  A.  Nordgren ;  John  Newman;  E.  ]\I.  Grayson. 

Phj'sicians:  S.  M.  Wylie,  E.  E.  Hester,  S.  S.  Fuller,  S.  A.  Lundgren. 

Four  hundred  and  twelve  beneficial,  and  two  social  members. 


KNIGHTS  OP  PYTHIAS. 

In  October,  1894,  ]\Iayor  C.  E.  Beach,  then  a  young,  inexperienced  lawyer, 
who  had  recently  moved  to  Paxton,  finding  that  there  was  no  lodge  of  Knights 
of  Pythias  in  the  city,  and  being  a  member  himself,  secured  a  dispensation  of 
the  grand  lodge  to  secure  names  for  the  charter  for  a  lodge  at  Paxton.  A 
sufficient  number  of  names  was  secured,  some  thirty  odd,  and  Patton  Lodge, 
No.  498,  K.  P.,  was  organized  and  instituted  on  neceiiihci-  12,  1894,  by  Sanuiel 
L.  Ilarnit,  of  Gibson  (!ity,  acting  district  deputy  grand  chancellor. 

This  lodge  has  had,  since  its  institution,  a  steady,  healthy  growth,  and  it 
ranks  now  number  the  flower  of  the  young  manhood  of  Paxton  and  vicinity. 
Its  past  chancellors  are  as  follows:  C.  E.  Beach,  J.  II.  Flora,  M.  E.  Hunt, 
F.  F.  Newlin,  W.  L.  Walton,  D.  B.  Steward,  A.  AV.  Gylander,  C.  E.  Lewis,  L. 
A.  Crum,  R.  J.  Atwood,  J.  W.  INIcKown,  E.  I\I.  Grayson,  A.  C.  AVascher,  Theo- 
dore Anderson,  C.  S.  Schneider,  S.  AV.  Stout,  and  E.  M.  Grayson  has  been 
again  elected  and  is  now  chancellor  e^^mmander  of  th(^  lodge;  P.  F.  Newlin, 
vice  chancellor;  II.  E.  Duffield,  keeper  of  records  and  s<'nls;  V.  E.  Johnson, 
master  of  finance;  Vennum  Lateer,  master  of  exchequer;  Adolpli  Eager,  mas- 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  .  10? 

ter  at  arms;  0.  J.  Baiiium,  prelate;  John  Risser,  inner  guard,  Edward  Eng- 
limd,  outer  guard.  The  trustees  are  D.  B.  Steward,  A.  T.  Flora  and  C.  S. 
Schneider.       Grand  representative,  D.  B.  Steward. 

This  lodge  is  now  the  ])ride  of  Paxton  in  tlie  mattc^r  of  civie  society.  In 
conjunction  with  the  lodge  proper,  it  has  a  Uniform  or  Lily  Rank  Company, 
officered  by  William  Risser,  captain;  C.  S.  Schneider,  first  lieutenant;  Ray 
Flora,  second  lieutenant,  and  other  non-commissioned  officers.  C.  E.  Beach  of 
this  company,  is  on  the  staff  of  Colonel  Bertoni,  of  Bloomington,  with  the  rank 
of  first  lieutenant. 

The  subordinate  or  lodge  proper  is  noted  all  over  tlie  grand  domain  of 
Illinois  as  having  one  of  the  best  rank  teams  for  all  three  ranks,  and  is  called 
to  various  towns  of  central  location  throughout  the  domain  to  confer  the  ranks, 
where  lodges  of  other  towns  can  congregate  and  see  the  work. 

Its  members,  as  such,  were  important  factor';  in  the  retaining  of  the  county 
seat  at  Paxton,  during  the  county  seat  fight  in  1906,  and  are  alwa^^s  in  the  van 
of  everything  progressive. 

Paxton  is  also  honored  by  the  societies  of  Yeomen  of  America,  Court  of 
Honor,  Independent  Order  of  Red  Men  and  Royal  Neighbors  of  America. 


FORD    COUNTY    CHAUTAUQUA. 

The  Ford  County  Chautau(|ua  is  a  permanent  institution  and  the  mcH'tings 
thus  far  held  have  been  eminently  successful. 


PATTON  TOWNSHIP. 

When  this  county  was  a  part  of  Vermilion,  it  was  called  Prairie  City  town- 
ship, whieh  was  organized  from  Middlefork  township,  February  16,  1856. 
This  name  was  changed  to  Patton,  September  15,  1857,  on  account  of  there 
being  another  Prairie  City  township  in  the  state.  In  1858,  Drummer  Grove 
township  was  organized,  or  set  off  from  Patton,  and  included  all  of  the  terri- 
tory in  this  county  lying  west  of  range  9  east,  and  in  March,  1859,  all  of  the 
Pan  Handle  was  organized  from  Patton  and  called  Stockton  township.  Pat- 
ton township  derived  its  name  from  Judge  David  II.  Patton,  its  first  sup(^i-- 
visor  and  the  first  county  judge  of  Ford  county. 

In  1863,  Button  was  set  off  from  Patton,  and  in  1867  Wall  was  organized 
out  of  Patton  township.  This  is  the  largest  township  in  the  county,  being  six 
miles  north  and  south,  and  ten  miles  east  and  west. 


108  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  ]\Iiddle  fork  of  the  South  Vermilion  river  enters  the  township  in  the 
nortliwest  corner,  and  flows  diagonally  across  it.  passing  out  into  Button  near 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  township.  Along  the  line  of  this  stream  in  this 
township  is  found  about  all  of  the  timber  there  is  in  the  county.       At    Ten 

Mile  Grove  the  earliest  settlers  first  located. 

Two  railroads  cross  this  township — the  Lake  Erie  &  Western  running 
east  and  west,  and  the  Illinois  Central  north  and  south. 

The  southwest  part  of  the  township  is  settled  principally  by  Swedes.  They 
have  a  Lutheran  church  on  the  east  side  of  secton  30,  whch  was  constructed 
in  1872  by  C.  M.  Johnson.  This  part  of  the  township  is  familiarly  known 
as  Farmersville. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  at  this  time  to  ascertain  with  any  degree  of  cer- 
tainty who  the  first  settler  was  or  when  he  came,  but  among  the  earliest  were 
John  Cooder,  who  entered  the  farm  owned  by  William  J.  Trickel ;  Joseph 
Coontz,  who  entered  the  farm  owned  by  Frank  Meharry;  David  IT.  Patton.  who 
settled  on  section  14,  in  1849 ;  a  ]\Ir.  Dunbar,  who  built  the  house  owned  by 
B.  Q.  Cherry,  about  1850 ;  Daniel  C.  Stoner,  who  entered  the  old  homestead  for 
his  son,  J.  F.  Stoner,  in  1850;  Daniel  C.  Stoner  became  a  resident  in  1851, 
and  was  the  first  treasurer  of  Ford  county ;  John  Kitchen ;  William  Hackworth ; 
E.  ITagin;  David  Crandall;  John  Cook;  a  Mr.  Edwards;  a  Mr.  Granger;  Wil- 
liam Newlin;  James  Hock;  J.  D.  Hall  and  son  Henry  C. ;  R.  R.  Murdock;  the 
Day  family;  William  Blanchard;  William  and  Stacey  Daniels;  the  Stites  fam- 
ily; J.  P.  Middleeoff ;  and  Dr.  Carpenter.  These  families  came  before  1857. 
During  1858-59,  Henry  Barnhouse,  William  Perdue,  Dr.  L.  B.  Farrar,  Wil- 
liam Grayson,  Frank  Meharry,  Edward  L.  Gill,  William  Goodrich,  the  Ilanley 
family,  Robert  Blackstock,  A.  McElroy  and  a  Mr.  Tabor  moved  into  the  town- 
ship. Remembrance  Clark  moved  into  Patton  in  1860.  lie  came  from 
Maine.  John  B.  Shaw  and  J.  C.  Dunham  came  in  1861.  George  Fuoss  came 
out  here  from  Ohio  and  entered  the  school  section. 

There  are  many  Swede  settlers  in  Patton  who  came  here  about  1863  and 
later,  and  among  the  earliest  may  be  mentioned  C.  M.  Johnson,  Peter  Larson, 
Peter  Hanson,  John  Nelson,  C.  F.  Carlson,  A.  M.  Hanson,  E.  Collins,  N.  P. 
Nelson,  William  Holmes,  Ola  Nelson,  John  Scogg,  Gus  Larson,  C.  A.  Ostram, 
Peter  Peterson,  Andrew  Nelson,  J.  P.  Youngdahl,  Swan  Olson,  N\'ls  Olson, 
J.  W.  Swanson,  John  Telander,  C.  W.  Lindstrom,  C.  and  J.  P.  Swanson,  and 
Peter  Lundburg. 

It  is  probable  that  William  Trickel  kept  the  first  store  in  this  township, 
if  not  in  the  county.       The  store  was  located  on  section  13.       A  blacksmith 


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HISTORY   OP   FORD   COUNTY  111 

shop  was  started  at  Ten  JMile  Grove  by  C.  J.  Buehner,  who  afterward  moved 
to  Paxton  and  buiit  a  shop  near  the  railroad. 

The  first  school  in  this  township  w^as  a  log  house  at  Ten  ]\Iile  Grove,  and 
Judge  Patton  was  the  first  teacher.  A  ]\Iiss  Lewis  came  froi;i  LaFayette  and 
taught  the  school  after  the  Judge  finished  teaching. 

Th»i  following  sketches  are  of  some  of  the  oldest  settlers  and  business  men 
who  were  and  are  living  in  Patton  township : 

J.  D.  Hall  was  born  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  April  10,  1821.  James  Hall, 
father  of  J.  D.  Hall,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  died  in  Vinton  county, 
Ohio,  1855.  Mr.  Hall  emigrated  from  Ohio  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  June, 
1839,  and  to  Warren  county,  Indiana,  in  1843.  He  was  married  to  Eliza 
Wieman  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  in  1841.  She  was  a  native  of  Virginia. 
In  Februar}^,  1852,  Mr.  Hall  emigrated  to  Ford  county,  then  Vermilion  county, 
where  he  began  to  make  improvements  on  section  33.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Hall 
were  blessed  with  four  children.  Mr.  Hall  built  the  first  house  north  of  the 
river,  in  what  is  now  Ford  county.  The  postoffice,  when  he  first  settled  in 
this  county,  was  eighteen  miles  from  his  farm,  at  Higginsville.  Mr.  Hall 
began  the  grain  business  with  his  son,  Henry  C.  Hall,  of  Paxton,  in  18G5.  He 
had  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  of  excellent  land  in  Patton,  which  he 
entered  in  1854.       He  was  the  second  sheriff  of  Ford  county. 

David  Patton  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Kentucky,  in  1806.  His  father 
was  a  farmer.  When  quite  young  he  went  to  Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  then 
to  Preble  county,  Ohio.  He  was  ambitious  to  become  a  lawyer  and  entered 
the  law  office  of  Oliver  H.  Smith,  in  Connersville,  Indiana.  One  of  his  fel- 
low students  was  Caleb  B.  Smith,  who  afterward  was  secretary  of  the  interior. 
From  Connereville,  INIr.  Patton  went  to  LaFayette,  Indiana,  and  began  the  jna,-- 
tice  of  law,  where  he  remained  about  twenty  years,  and  then  moved  to  this 
township  in  1849.  He  first  located  at  Ten  Mile  Grove.  He  lived  there  until 
1865  when  he  came  to  Paxton.  This  township  was  named  after  Judge  Pat- 
ton. He  was  the  first  teacher  in  this  township  and  the  first  county  judge 
of  the  county.       He  held  the  office  for  fifteen  years. 

THE  day  family. 

The  Day  famil,v  settled  on  section  13.  They  comprised  Samuel  Day,  the 
father ;  Peggy,  the  mother ;  and  children — John  P.,  Samuel,  N.  B.  Da,v,  and 
Cordelia,  wife  of  James  Hock.  Samuel  Day  was  a  native  of  Kentucky.  He 
died  in  1858.  He  married  Peggy  Purviance  in  1821.  She  was  also  a  native 
of   Kentucky.        They  had   nine   children.        They   came  from   Preble   county, 


112  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Ohio,  to  this  state.  Saimu'l  i-anic  here  in  1854.  He  was  twice  married;  first 
to  Siisanah  Swisher,  who  died  in  1858.  He  married  ]\Iiss  Jennie  Lyons  ^^or 
his  second  wife  in  1861.  Sanuiel  Day  was  the  first  eireuit  t-lerk  and  recorder 
of  Ford  county.  John  P.  Day  was  l)orn  in  1824.  He  settled  in  Patton  in 
1857.  In  1845  he  married  Malinda  Swisher,  a  native  of  southern  Indiana 
He  served  as  county  treasurer  several  terms.  John  P.  and  Samuel  Day  were 
engaged  in  the  real-estate  and  loan  business  in  Paxton.  N.  B.  Day  was  born 
in  I^reble  county,  Ohio,  and  settled  in  Patton  in  1854.  The  Day  family  first 
lived  on  the  farm  that  was  afterward  owned  by  B.  Q.  Cherr.y.  N.  B.  Day 
married  Barbara,  daughter  of  Daniel  C.  Stoner,  an  old  pioneer  of  this  county. 
Mr.  Day  is  now  living  in  Paxton.  Cordelia  married  ]\Ir.  James  Hock,  who 
was  a  resident  of  Paxton,  and  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  the  township.  They 
were  married  in  1858.  Mr.  Hock  was  a  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  and  came 
to  what  is  now  Ford  county  from  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  in  1852. 

THE    HANLEY    FAMILY. 

John  Hanley  was  l^orn  in  Virginia  in  1808.  He  was  brought  up  a  farmer. 
In  1829,  he  moved  to  Greene  county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  1855,  princi- 
pally engaged  in  stock-raising.  He  then  came  to  Patton  township  and  estab- 
lished a  lumberyard  and  grain  office  on  the  west  side  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Kailroad.  In  1862,  he  bought  a  farm  at  Ten  Mile  Grove,  afterward  owned 
by  his  son,  John  M.  Hanley,  where  he  lived  until  1883,  when  he  came  to  town 
and  lived  with  his  son,  Jolni  M.  Hanley.  He  was  married  to  IMargaret  Alex- 
ander, a  native  of  Virginia,  in  1828.  They  had  four  children:  Alexander 
H.  Hanley;  William  A.,  who  died  in  1868  in  Xenia,  Ohio;  Ella  M.,  wife  of 
Alexander  McElroy,  of  Paxton;  and  John  M.,  who  was  a  leading  hardware 
merchant  in  this  city.  The  mother,  IMargaret,  died  at  Ten  ]\Iile  Grove  in 
1876.  John  M.  Hanley  was  educated  in  Delaware  College,  Ohio,  and  was 
pi'incipal  of  the  public  schools  in  Paxton  for  six  years. 

THE    STITES    FAMILY. 

Benjamin  Stites  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1805.  In  1882  he  settled 
in  (-incinnati  and  followed  his  trade  of  a  mason,  Ix'sides  running  a  stone 
([uarry.  He  remained  in  Cincinnati  luitil  18157,  when  he  mt)ved  to  Vermilion 
county,  Illinois,  and  lived  on  a  farm  near  Danville,  until  1856,  when  he  came 
to  Paxton  and  sell  led  on  tlie  homestead.  Benjamin  Stites  was  twice  married. 
Ills  first  wife,  a  iialive  of  P>utler  county,  Ohio,  died  in  1828.  They  liad  two 
chiidi-en.  His  second  wife  was  Susan  E.  Stuart,  of  Hamilton,  Butler  county, 
Oliio.  This  union  was  l)lesse(l  with  six  children:  Benjamin  F.,  Hannah  S., 
Phebe  A.,  Margaret,  William  II.  and  Samuel  S. 


HISTORY   OP  FORD   COUNTY  113 

Stagey  Daniels  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  in  1825.  His  father, 
Staoey  Daniels,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  came  to  Ohio  in  1821.  He 
died  in  1825.  He  married  Lattia  Carnahan,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  She 
died  in  Cincinnati  in  1877,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  They  had  a  family 
of  four  sons  and  two  daughters  that  lived  to  grow  up ;  three  others  died  in 
infancy.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  left  Ohio  in  October,  1856,  and  settled  in 
Prospect  City  in  the  spring  of  1857.  He  built  his  hoase  on  the  site  that  was 
occupied  by  G.  J.  Shepardson's  house  on  College  Hill.  He  was  a  mason  by 
trade,  and  helped  build  many  of  the  buildings  in  Paxton.  In  1859  he  went 
to  California ;  came  back  in  1862 ;  and  enlisted  in  the  Eighty-third  Ohio  Vol- 
unteer Infantry;  and  was  in  the  service  until  1865.  Mr.  Daniels  was  thrice 
married — first  to  Margaret  Rush,  in  1819.  She  was  a  native  of  Germany  and 
died  in  1859.  His  second  wife  was  i\Iary  Williams,  of  Cincinnati,  whom  he 
married  in  July,  1865,  and  wdio  died  in  1867.  His  third  wnfe  was  Miss  Rebecca 
Kempton,  a  native  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  They  were  married  in  June, 
1868.  They  had  two  children:  Emma,  wife  of  Ed  Field,  deceased,  of  Elliott; 
and  Albert,  who  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  Ludlow,  Illinois.  ]\Ir.  Dan- 
iels was  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  Paxton. 

John  M.  Hall  was  born  in  Washington  county.  New  York,  October,  1810. 
He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm.  In  1882,  he  went  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana. 
He  held  various  offices  of  trust,  l)eing  at  one  time  county  recorder.  In  1860 
he  went  to  Kirksville,  INIissouri,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for 
two  years,  when  he  came  to  Paxton  in  1862.  In  1838  he  married  IMiss  Nanc^' 
Nichols,  a  native  of  Ohio.  They  had  three  children.  Mr.  Hall  was  super- 
visor of  Patton  township  for  several  years  and  held  the  office  of  police  magis- 
trate for  many  years.  He  was  well  liked  and  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the 
people. 

John  P.  Middlecoff  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  in  1838.  His 
father,  Daniel  Middlecoff,  was  a  native  of  Washington  county,  IMaryland,  born 
in  1800.  He  came  to  this  township  in  1861  and  died  in  1866.  John  P.  came 
to  Illinois  in  1857  and  settled  in  Ludlow,  Champaign  county,  and  engaged  in 
the  general  mercantile  business.  He  moved  from  there  to  his  farm  in  1862, 
where  he  remained  until  1867,  when  he  came  to  Paxton  and  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business.  He  continued  in  this  for  several  years.  He  was  elected 
supervisor  of  Patton  township  several  times,  being  chairman  of  the  board.  In 
1872  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  twenty-eighth  general  assembly.  He  was 
at  one  time  president  of  the  Paxton  Brick  &  Tile  Works.       In   1863  he  was 


114  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

married  to  JNFiss  Mary  Fox,  of  Cincinnati.  Oliio.  To  them  were  l)()rn  three 
children,  all  of  whom  died.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  ]\Iiddlecotf  are  still  residents  of 
Paxton. 

A.  Croft  is  from  Clinton  eonnty,  Ohio,  and  settled  here  in  1877.  lie 
owns  a  fine  tract  of  land  of  four  hundred  acres  lying  adjacent  to  the  city  on 
the  west.       The  buildings  and  improvements  on  this  farm  are  of  tlie  best. 

AV.  W.  Blanchard  owned  a  well  improved  farm  in  section  20,  range  10, 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  the  city.  INIr.  Blanchard  was  a  native 
of  Windham  county,  Vermont,  and  settled  in  tliis  township  in  1856. 

A.  L.  Clark  is  an  extensive  landowner,  owning  about  nine  hundred  acres 
of  excellent  land,  most  of  it  lying  in  the  southwest  part  of  Button  townshi}). 
]Mr.  Clark  is  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  settling  in  this  county  in  1864.  He 
makes  his  home  in  Paxton. 

C.  M.  Johnson,  farmer,  contractor  and  builder,  and  a  native  of  Sweden, 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1846,  and  settled  in  the  county  in  1863. 

David  Reep,  a  native  of  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  settled  on  section 
28  in  1879. 

F.  IMeiiarry  came  to  Patton  township  from  IMontgomery  county.  Indiana, 
in  1859.  He  bought  a  tract  of  land  in  section  10,  where  he  erected  buildings 
and  improvements  equal  to  any  in  the  county. 

William  Trickel  came  from  Piqua  county,  Ohio,  in  1836.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  resided  on  section  27. 

Peter  Hanson  came  here  from  Sweden  in  1863. 

William  Grayson,  a  native  of  England,  settled  in  this  township  in  1858, 
on  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  south  of  Paxton. 

W.  H.  II.  Ijams,  a  native  of  Ohio,  settled  in  this  township  in  1870,  on 
section  10. 

Robert  Strong,  a  farmer  and  native  of  IMonroe  county,  Indiana,  settled 
in  Patton  in  1865. 

Peter  Anderson,  a  native  of  Sweden,  came  to  this  township  in  1864,  set- 
tling on  secti(m  31. 

Charles  Deeper,  a  farmer  and  native  of  Bedford  county,  Tennessee, 
where  he  was  born  in  1816,  came  to  this  county  in  1869, 

Albert  Keith,  a  native  of  Madison  county,  New  York,  settled  in  lliis 
county  in  1866.  He  was  at  one  time  mayor  of  Paxton,  and  owiici-  of  a  fine 
farm  in  Dix  township. 


I 

I 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  115 

Anotlier  large  and  extensive  farmer  of  Patton  is  William  Perdue,  a  native 
of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  eame  here  in  1859.  He  owns  about 
seven  hundred  acres  of  rich  farming  lands  in  Patton  township.  He  resides 
in  Paxton. 

LiN  CoKBLV,  also  owning  extensive  farm  lands,  is  one  of  the  jjioneer  set- 
tlers of  this  township.       He  has  for  several  years  resided  in  Paxton. 

C.  E.  Henderson  resided  at  Henderson  Station,  on  the  Lake  Erie  &  West- 
ern Railroad.  He  was  a  native  of  Loudoun,  Virginia.  He  settled  in  this  town- 
ship in  1865.       He  had  a  beautiful  home  and  a  fine  farm. 

One  of  the  oldest  settlers  of  Patton  was  John  F.  Stoner,  son  of  Daniel 
C.  Stoner.  John  F.  came  here  in  1851  and  settled  on  section  9.  He  was  a 
native  of  Indiana.       His  large  farm  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  township. 

C.  M.  Taylor,  who  was  principal  of  Collegiate  Institute,  was  a  native  of 
Vermilion  county,   Indiana,  and  came  to  this  county  in  1878. 

J.  B.  SiiAW,  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  and  a  native  of  Grafton 
county,  New  Hampshire,  came  to  this  county  in  1861. 

R.  Blackstock  was  cashier  of  Ford  County  Bank.  He  was  a  native  of 
Canada  West  and  settled  here  in  1858. 

II.  A.  Kelso,  physician,  is  a  native  of  ]\Iarion  county,  Indiana,  and  came 
here  in  1864. 

S.  J\I.  Wylie,  physician,  a  native  of  Coles  county,  Illinois,  settled  here  in 
1869. 

J.  Y.  Campbell,  physician,  settled  here  in  1866. 

Charles  H.  Langford,  a  native  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  settled  here  in  1881 
and  was  engaged  in  the  abstract  business. 

G.  J.  Shepardson,  mayor,  settled  here  in  1867. 

George  Grove,  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  is  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.    He  came  here  in  1875. 

P.  Hanson,  druggist,  a  native  of  Denmark,  settled  here  in  1865. 

0.  W.  Swan  SON,  stock  and  loans,  was  born  in  Sweden  and  came  here  in 
1865. 

George  W.  Cruzen,  farmer,  a  native  of  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  settled 

here  in  1868. 

W.  B.  Travis,  merchant,  was  born  in  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
came  here  in  1868. 

CH.^JtLES  C.  Putt,  importer  of  horses,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, came  here  in  1875. 


116  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

W.  JM.  Wilson,  groceries,  a  native  of  Monroe  county,  Indiana,  settled  here 
in  1866. 

Harper  &  Company,  dry  goods,  natives  of  Washin^iton  county.  New  York, 
came  in  1876. 

N.  YouNGGREEN,  merchant,  native  of  Sweden,  came  in  1871. 

F.  Telander,  merchant,  a  native  of  Sweden,  came  in  1869. 

William  R.  Trickel,  gunsmith,  a  native  of  Knox  county,  Indiana,  settled 
here  in  1836. 

R.  S.  Hall,  agent  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  is  a  native  of  Middle- 
sex county,  Connecticut. 

G.  F.  Sandburg,  carriage-maker,  a  native  of  Sweden,  came  here  in  1868. 
E.  L.  Gill,  auctioneer,  a  native  of  Jefferson  county,  Virginia,  settled  here 

in  1859. 

Henry  Pearson,  contractor,  a  native  of  Sweden,  came  here  in  1867. 

White  Brothers,  lumber,  natives  of  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania, 
came  in  1864. 

A.  C.  Thompson,  banker,  a  native  of  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  came 
here  in  1868. 

G.  E.  Abbott,  agent  for  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad,  a  native  of 
McLean  county,  Illinois,  came  here  in  1878. 

G.  W^.  Leeper,  wind-mills,  a  native  of  Bureau  county,  Illinois,  came  here 
in  1869. 

J.  L.  Larkin,  restaurant,  a  native  of  New  York,  came  here  in  1880. 

George  Schlosser,  grocer,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  came  here  in  1862. 

A.  S.  Hopkins,  agricultural  implements,  a  native  of  Onondaga  county, 
New  York,  came  here  in  1869. 

Andrew  Anderson,  grocer,  a  native  of  Sweden,  came  here  in  1864. 

L.  II.  RoDEEN,  grocer,  a  native  of  Sweden,  came  here  in  1867. 

R.  Cruzen,  hardware,  was  born  in  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  and  came 
here  in  1868. 

B.  F.  Hill,  flouring  mill,  a  native  of  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  came  here 
in   1863. 

George  M.  Dlxon,  barber,  a  native  of  Jefferson  county,  Indiana,  came 
here  in  1866. 

D.  D.  Denman,  builder,  native  of  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  settled 
here  in  1871. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  117 

L.  S.  HoLDERMAN,  a  iijitive  of  Grundy  county,  Illinois,  caiuc  lici-c  in  1SS;5. 
He  has  a  farm  on  section  8.     He  is  now  living  in  Paxton. 

The  above  sliows  the  business  in  which  each  one  mentioned  was  engaged 
in  1884. 


DRmOIER   TOWNSHIP. 

Drnnnner  (Jrove  township  was  organized  and  set  otf  from  Patton  township, 
September  l-t,  1858,  and  comprised  all  of  what  now  composes  the  townships 
of  Drummer,  Dix*  Snllivant  and  Peach  Orchard  or  all  of  Ford  county  lying 
west  of  range  9  east,  and  containing  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  s(iuare 
miles. 

The  township  took  its  name  from  the  little  grov(>  called  Drummer  Grove, 
which  lies  about  a  mile  northwest  of  Gibson,  and  which  was  so  called  in  honor 
of  a  noted  hunting  dog  named  Drummer,  that  became  overheated  in  a  deer 
chase  and  died  and  was  buried  in  the  grove.  The  only  authentic  history  that 
has  been  preserved  in  regard  to  the  life  and  character  of  the  dog  is  that  he 
was  not  a  "yaller  dog." 

In  186-J:  there  must  have  been  some  congressional  investigation  or  some- 
thing discovered  derogatory  to  the  character  of  the  dog,  for  a  petition  signed 
by  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  townshi})  was  presented  to  the  l)oard  of 
supervisors  asking  to  have  the  name  of  the  township  changed  to  Dix,  in  honor 
of  General  Dix,  of  New  York,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  township 
was  known  hy  that  name  until  186!),  when  upon  the  i'e((nisit(>  petition  l^MUg 
presented  to  the  board  of  supervisors  the  territory  comprised  in  towns  2'.i  and 
south  half  of  24  north,  range  7  east,  was  set  off  from  Dix  and  rechristened 
Drummer  Grove,  thus  dividing  the  honors  of  the  territory  ecpially  between 
General  Dix  and  the  dog. 

In  1870  the  name  being  found  too  long  for  practical  convenience  the  word 
"grove"  was  eliminated  from  the  name  by  the  board  of  supervisors. 

The  first  settler  within  the  limit  of  Drummer  township  was  Andrew  Jor- 
dan, who  was  a  native  from  Kentucky,  where  he  was  born  October  28,  1828, 
and  came  to  Illinois  when  twenty-one  years  of  age,  with  a  horse,  saddle  and 
bridle  and  fifteen  dollars  in  money.  He  went  to  work  by  the  month  on  a. 
farm  in  Cass  county,  where  he  remained  for  two  years,  and  then  came  into 
this  vicinity  and  bought  a  small  farm  near  the  timber  in  Champaign  county. 
He  lived  there  a  year,  then  married  Miss  Amanda  Devore,  and  moved  on  the 


lis  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

prairie  iu  tlie  fall  of  1851.  He  added  tract  after  tract  of  land  to  his  farm 
until  he  owned  eleven  hundred  acres  of  excellent  land,  all  lying  in  one  body. 
When  ]\Ir.  Jordan  moved  here.  Ford  county  had  not  heen  organized.  His  only 
neighbors  were  wolves  and  deer,  \vhicli  were  excee/lingiy  neighborly  in  their 
visits.  His  nearest  milling  accommodations  were  Danville,  Illinois,  or  Cov- 
ington, Indiana;  the  nearest  blacksmith  shop  or  place  to  get  a  plow  sharpened 
was  Mahomet,  twenty-four  miles. 

About  a  year  or  so  after  he  came  here,  the  town  of  Pera,  now  Ludlow, 
was  started,  which  was  for  many  years  his  only  market,  a  distance  of  seven- 
teen miles.  Corn  was  then  worth  ten  cents  per  bushel  and  land  from  three 
to  eight  dollars  per  acre.  Mr.  Jordan  improved  all  his  land,  having  it  thor- 
oughly tiled  with  tile  of  his  own  manufacture,  he  having  established  on  his 
farm  one  of  the  largest  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  tile  and  brick 
in  the  county. 

The  next  settler  of  the  township  was  William  Bridges,  who  came  in  1853 
and  settled  on  a  farm  owned  by  J.  A.  Rockwood,  of  Gibson.  During  the  same 
year,  William  Jordan,  brother  of  Andrew  Jordan,  settled  in  an  old  house  on 
section  13,  afterward  owned  by  Leonard  Pierpont.  Lindsey  Corbly  came 
next  and  settled  on  section  25,  south  of  Andrew  Jordan,  on  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Weldon  farm. 

In  1855  Dr.  J.  E.  Davis  settled  at  Drummer  Grove,  where  he  pursued 
farming  and  the  practice  of  his  profession  for  many  years,  taking  an  active 
part  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  county. 

The  next  early  settler  was  Samuel  J.  LeFevre,  who  was  born  in  Montgom- 
ery county,  Ohio,  April  16,  1841,  and  settled  with  his  j^arents  on  this  farm  in 
the  year  1856,  being  then  only  fifteen  years  old.  Ford  county  was  not  then 
organized,  this  territory  being  a  part  of  Vermilion  county,  and  all  called  Pat- 
ton  toAvnship,  with  Prospect  City,  now  Paxton,  as  the  only  voting  place  in 
it.  In  1862  Mr.  LeFevre  enlisted  in  the  Seventy-sixth  Illinois  Infantry  and 
served  until  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Vicksburg  in  the  charge  of  Fort  Blakely, 
April  9,  1865.  His  wonnd  rendering  him  luifit  for  military  service,  he  was 
honorably  discharged,  and  returned  to  his  farm  again,  where  he  remained  until 
1872,  when  he  moved  to  Gibson  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business.  He  was 
almost  continually  in  the  discharge  of  some  official  trust  since  the  organization 
of  the  township,  having  been  school  treasurer  four  years,  and  trustee  six 
years ;  member  of  the  village  board  three  years  and  presid(>nt  of  the  board  one 
year;  supervisor  of  the  township  three  and  a  half  years;  and  chairman  of 
the  county  board  two  years. 


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HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  121 

In  the  same  year,  with  ]\Ir.  LeFevre's  family,  J.  H.  Diingan  came  and 
settled  on  the  farm  adjoining  Mr.  LeFevre  on  the  south,  and  alike  with  his 
neighbors  endured  all  the  hardships  incident  to  that  new  and  wild  state  of  the 
country.  He  remained  here  improving  his  farm  and  pursuing  the  peaceful 
life  of  an  industrious  farmer,  until  he  saw  the  thriving  town  of  Gibson  spring- 
ing up  on  the  prairie  near  him,  and  then  moved  into  town  and  engaged  in  the 
grain  biLsiness.  and  was  one  of  the  most  energetic  men  of  the  town. 

Thomas  Stephens  came  next  and  settled  in  the  south  part  of  the  township, 
turning  his  attention  principally  to  cattle-raising,  accumulating  by  successive 
purchases  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  Sangamon.  He  followed  the  business 
of  stock-raising  and  farming  until  too  old  and  feeble  to  manage  his  farm  him- 
self, when  he  divided  it  among  his  children  and  settled  down  with  them  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  a  quiet,  peaceful  way,  freed  from  the  care 
and  anxiety  of  any  kind  of  business. 

Among  other  settlers  wdio  followed  in  a  short  time  were  Asa  Canterbury, 
Caleb  ]\IcKeever,  B.  H.  McClure  and  family,  John  Pagel,  William  Reighley, 
Thomas  Ilolloway  and  Lewis  Weekman. 

The  tirst  school  taught  in  the  township  was  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  J.  E. 
Davis,  during  the  winter  of  1863,  taught  by  ]\Iiranda  Holloway.  In  1866 
Drummer  Grove  schoolhouse  was  built,  and  a  school  taught  there  by  INIary  Ann 
George.  Among  other  pioneer  teachers  of  Drummer  were  Miss  Arabella  Davis, 
wife  of  Weaver  White ;  A.  Forbes  Irwin,  of  Peoria,  and  Weaver  White. 

The  soil  of  Drummer  township  is  the  best  in  the  county,  although  when 
surveyed  by  the  government  a  great  portion  of  it  was  returned  as  swamp  land. 
Yet,  by  the  system  of  drainage  which  has  been  regularly  and  steadily  followed 
during  the  past  fifty-four  years,  its  value  and  productiveness  cannot  be  excelled 
in  the  county. 


GIBSON    CITY. 

Jonathan  B.  Lott  was  born  at  Graysville,  Ohio,  February  14,  1840.  He 
came  to  Illinois  when  only  eight  years  old,  and  located  with  his  parents  at 
Danvers,  IMcLean  county.  His  father  died  when  he  was  fourteen,  and  he 
being  the  oldest  son  at  home,  took  charge  of  the  family.  When  the  war  broke 
out,  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  Thirty-third  Illinois  Infantry,  and  served  three 
years ;  then  reenlisted  as  a  veteran,  remaining  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when 
he  was  discharged  on  account  of  wounds.       He  was  twice  wounded  at  the  bat- 


122  IIISTOKY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

tie  of  Spanish  Fort.  Louisiana.  On  his  discharge  from  the  army  he  returned 
to  McLean  county  and  entered  Wesleyan  University,  where  he  remained  one 
year. 

January  1,  1867,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  ]\Iargaret  A.  Gibson,  and 
in  1869  purchased  from  Jesse  Whitehead,  of  Chicago,  the  town  site  of  Gibson, 
and  in  February,  1869,  built  his  house  here.  ]\Ir.  Lott,  by  his  energy  and 
personal  influence,  secured  such  changes  in  the  surveys  of  the  different  rail- 
roads that  brought  about  their  junction  at  the  present  location  of  Gibson.  In 
1870  he  secured  the  Gilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield,  now  Springfield  Branch  of 
the  Illinois  Central.  The  Lake  Erie  &  Western  was  surveyed  three  miles  south 
of  this  place,  and  the  Chicago  &  Paducah,  now  Wabash,  was  projected  and 
surveyed  through  Saybrook,  but  Mr.  Lott  succeeded  in  getting  them  to  pass 
through  this  town. 

]\Ir.  Lott  departed  this  life  September  19,  1879.  The  town  was  named 
after  his  widow. 

Gibson  owes  its  existence  and  prosperity  to  the  untiring  zeal  and  energy 
of  J.  B.  Lott.  The  original  town  of  Gibson  was  platted  and  laid  out  by  J. 
B.  Lott,  the  proprietor,  on  November  1,  1870,  and  was  called  Gibson  in  obe- 
dience to  the  Scriptural  injunction,  "Remember  Lot's  -\dfe,"  Mrs.  Lott's  maiden 
name  being  Gibson. 

On  making  application  for  a  postoffice  of  the  same  name,  the  department 
added  the  word  "city"  on  account  of  the  similarity  of  the  name  Avith  Gilson, 
Illinois;  hence  the  name  of  the  town  as  platted  is  Gibson,  and  the  postoffice  is 
Gibson  City. 

The  first  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  J.  B.  Lott  and  wife. 

The  first  commercial  business  done  in  the  town  was  commenced  by  William 
Moyer,  December  1,  1870.  He  opened  a  grain  office,  which  business  he  followed 
for  a  number  of  years.  Commencing  with  a  very  moderate  capital,  by  atten- 
tion to  his  business  and  the  exercise  of  superior  judgment  and  discretion  in  its 
management,  he  accumulated  a  fortune,  which  caused  him  to  be  recognized  as 
the  wealthiest  man  in  Gibson. 

Wilson  Brothers  next  opened  a  general  store  in  January,  1871.  on  the 
corner  south  of  the  opera  hall.  Next  came  II.  J.  Ring  in  the  same  month, 
and  in  April  following  liis  partner,  J.  IT.  Collier,  and  T.  D.  Spalding.  The 
firm  of  Ring  &  Collier  opened  a  hardware  store,  and  Mr.  Spalding  operated 
a  lumberyard  near  the  crossing  of  the  railroads.  About  the  same  time  came 
W.  D.  Worrell,  J.  F.  Hicks,  James  Garbett.  J.  E.  Lewis  and  others  followed 
in  such  rapid  succession  that  to  particularize  would  be  very  difficult. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  '  123 

The  first  single  lady  who  settled  in  Gibson  was  Miss  ]\Iary  Thompson,  a 
milliner.  The  first  school  in  the  town  was  taught  by  Miss  Caroline  Williams, 
and  was  taught  in  a  public  hall. 

The  first  preaching  was  conducted  by  Rev.  Schlosser,  of  Paxton,  in  the 
Illinois  Central  depot. 

jMr.  C.  H.  Yeomans  was  the  first  lawyer ;  Dr.  Anderson  was  the  first  physi- 
cian; J.  E.  Cruzen  was  the  first  postmaster,  and  M.  T.  Burwell  the  first  banker. 

The  first  railroad  through  Gibson  was  the  Oilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield, 
now  operated  by  the  Illinois  Central,  which  was  built  in  1871,  and  was  fol- 
lowed the  same  year  by  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western,  but  no  regular  trains  were 
run  until  the  following  spring.  The  Chicago  &  Paducah,  now  the  Wabash, 
St.  Louis  &  Pacific,  was  built  in  1874. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  by  the  Methodist  denomination,  and 
was  followed  by  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian,  the  First  Presbyterian,  United 
Brethren  and  Catholics.  There  are  quite  a  number  of  colored  people  in  Gib- 
son, who  have  built  a  church  called  the  African  Methodist  Church. 

The  first  wedding  in  the  place  was  that  of  Bruce  McCormick  and  Miss 
Ilattie  Gibson,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  J.  B.  Lott. 

The  first  death  was  that  of  a  jeweler  named  Angel,  which  occurred  in 
1872,  who  committed  suicide  by  cutting  his  throat  in  the  rear  of  the  New  York 
store. 

The  village  was  incorporated  in  1872,  with  T.  D.  Spalding,  J.  H.  Collier, 
S.  J.  LeFevre,  Bruce  McCormick  and  W.  T.  Kerr  as  trustees. 

In  the  year  1871  the  school  accommodations  being  entirely  inadequate  to 
the  wants  of  the  rapidly  increasing  population  of  the  town,  the  thoroughgoing 
enterprise  of  the  citizens  was  shown  in  the  erection  of  what  was  the  finest 
public  school  building  in  the  county.  It  is  a  two-story  brick,  with  a  full  story 
basement,  sixty  by  sixty,  all  finely  furnished,  and  heated  by  furnace,  with  the 
most  approved  plan  of  ventilation.  There  are  five  departments  in  the  build- 
ing, with  a  capacity  for  accommodating  three  hundred  pupils.  The  cost  of 
this  building  was  twelve  thousand  dollars.  In  1882,  this  becoming  too 
crowded  for  effective  work,  another  building,  forty  by  sixty,  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  five  thousand  dollars,  with  a  capacity  for  one  hundred  scholars. 

January  29,  1883,  the  town  was  visited  by  a  destructive  fire,  which  swept 
away  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  prop- 
erty, not  more  than  one-fourth  of  which  was  covered  by  insurance. 

Here  again  the  enterprising  spirit  of  the  citizens  evinced  itself,  for  in  less 
than  a  month  from  the  day  of  the  fire,  workmen  were  busy  preparing  the  burnt 


124  HISTORY   OP  FORD   COUNTY 

district  for  rebiiikling.  In  six  months'  time  there  was  erected  twelve  elegant 
brick  stores  (all  two  stories  high,  except  two)  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet 
in  length,  all  furnished  with  large  plate  glass  fronts,  as  fine  as  are  to  be 
found  in  any  city  in  the  state  outside  of  Chicago.  The  improvements  made 
during  those  six  months  cost,  in  the  aggregate,  nearly  eighty  thousand  dol- 
lars. Among  them,  and  worthy  of  mention,  is  M.  T.  Burwell's  opera  hall, 
on  the  second  floor  of  the  block  erected  by  M.  T.  Burwell;  is  fifty  by  one  hun- 
dred feet,  with  eighteen  foot  ceiling,  and  a  self-supporting  truss  roof,  leaving 
no  columns  or  central  supports  to  mar  its  beauty  or  obstruct  the  view.  The 
stage  scenery  is,  probably,  as  elaborate  and  complete  as  is  found  in  an,y  city 
in  the  state,  except  Chicago.  The  building — hall,  stage  and  footlights — is 
lighted  by  gas. 

The  following  is  a  brief  mention  of  some  of  the  leading  business  men  and 
prominent  farmers  who  have  lived  and  are  still  living  in  Drummer  township : 

Leonard  Pierpont  was  born  in  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  October  28, 
1819.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1858,  and  settled  in  this  township.  He  was  a 
good  farmer,  an  honest,  industrious  citizen  and  treasurer  of  Ford  county  for 
four  years.  He  died  in  April,  1874,  leaving  a  large  family.  Three  of  his 
sons  were  killed  in  the  war. 

William  H.  Guthrie  was  born  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1832. 
He  settled  in  Drummer  township  in  1865.  He  purchased  from  time  to  time, 
until  he  owned  a  fine  farm  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1868  to  Miss  Jennie  Stewart.       They  had  five  children. 

James  B.  Foley  is  a  native  of  Adams  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born 
in  1847,  and  came  to  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  with  his  parents  when  he  was 
three  years  old.  He  lived  there  twenty-four  years;  then  settled  in  this  town- 
ship on  section  20.  He  w^as  married  to  Miss  Olive  L.  Skeel,  December  24, 
1874. 

There  is  hardly  a  place  in  the  southern  part  of  Drummer  that  surpasses 
the  fine  home  of  Joseph  T.  Roberts,  on  section  35,  coming  from  Tazewell  county, 
Illinois.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Mary  C.  Bosserman,  a  native  of  De  Witt 
county,  Illinois. 

Nathan  L.  Skeel  was  born  in  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  August  19,  1848. 
He  lived  there  until  al)out  twenty-f(mr  years  of  age,  assisting  his  father  on  a 
farm,  when  he  settled  in  this  township.    In  1873,  he  married  Mary  Wallace. 

Willard  Proctor  was  born  in  Rutland,  Vermont,  in  1827,  where  he  lived 
for  about  twenty-five  years,  then  moved  to  Illinois.  In  August,  1862,  he 
enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Illinois  Regiment,  and  served  in  the 


» 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  125 

war  until  its  close.  He  was  married,  March,  1847,  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Hewitt, 
a  native  of  Rutland,  Vermont. 

Albert  Gilmore  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  in  1841.  In  1861, 
he  came  here  and  bought  sixteen  hundred  acres  of  land.  In  1880,  he  married 
]\Iiss  Elizabeth  A.  Boundy,  of  Peoria  county,  Illinois.       She  was  born  in  1858. 

Robert  A.  IMcChire  was  born  in  IMcLcan  county  in  1843.  He  lived  there 
until  1867,  when  he  came  to  this  township.  In  1862,  he  enlisted  in  the  Ninety- 
fourth  Illinois  Regiment,  and  was  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when 
he  was  honorably  discharged  and  returned  home.  He  was  married  in  1865 
to  Miss  Ann  McLaughlin. 

Austin  Cr.vbbs  was  born  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  January  8,  1838.  His 
father,  David  Crabbs,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  removed  to  Indiana 
in  1852,  where  he  departed  this  life  in  August,  1854.  Mr.  Crabbs  came  to 
Illinois  in  1873,  and  located  at  Gibson.  He  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade. 
Mr.  Crabbs  served  in  the  civil  war  for  three  years,  being  captain  of  Company 
C,  Forty-seventh  Indiana  Volunteers.  He  erected  two  handsome  buildings 
in  the  Center  block.  He  was  married  to  ]\liss  Catharine  Yeiter  in  Decatur 
county,  Indiana,  March  3,  1864. 

Gibson  also  has  a  Christian  church,  a  Swedish  Lutheran  and  Sw^edish  Mis- 
sion church. 

The  opera  house  was  built  in  1884  by  N.  T.  Burwell. 

A  mile  of  brick  paving  on  Main  street  was  laid  in  1906,  at  a  cost  of 
forty  thousand  dollars. 

The  waterworks  was  built  in  1895.  The  water,  of  a  fine  quality,  is 
obtained  from  wells  and  pumped  into  a  tower  and  reservoir.  One  pump  has 
a  capacity  of  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  gallons  every  twenty-four 
hours.       Cost  of  plant  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

The  city  hall  was  built  in  1906.     Lot  and  building  cost  eleven  thousand 

dollars. 

Gibson  has  three  school  buildings.  A  new  one  was  erected  in  1888,  at  a 
cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Gibson  City  has  two  hotels:  the  New  Gibson  and  the  Central.  The  New 
Gibson  was  built  in  1900,  by  W.  W.  Johnston.       Cost  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

Gibson's  new  Presbyterian  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1905.  It  is  of 
brick  and  stone,  and  the  cost  was  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

The  Christian  church  building  was  erected  in  1891,  at  an  expense  of  ten 
thousand  dollars. 


126  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  physicians  now  practicing  in  Gibson  City  are:  F.  O.  Culter,  D.  Y. 
Shamel,  F.  B.  Lovell,  W.  R.  Cothern,  G.  A.  Wash,  J.  C.  Cunningham,  li.  D. 
Rothgeb. 

The  veterans  of  the  Civil  war  have  at  Gibson  City  Lott  Post,  No.  73, 
G.  A.  R. 

Gibson  City  has  an  improvement  club,  woman's  chib,  recreation  club.  It 
also  maintains,  in  prosperous  condition.  Masonic,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  K.  of  P.,  M.  W. 
A.,  and  Court  of  Honor  lodges,  not  forgetting  the  Rebekahs,  Rathbone  Sisters, 
Royal  Neighbors  and  others. 

The  present  mayor  is  C.  W.  Knapp;  clerk,  W.  A.  Davidson;  attorne}^,  L. 
A.  Cranston. 


BANKS  OF  GIBSON  CITY. 

The  Farmers  and  Merchants'  Bank  was  established  in  1885  hy  II.  C. 
McClure  and  his  sons,  Robert  A.,  Herman  W.,  and  George  L.,  as  a  private  con- 
cern. Capital,  ten  thousand  dollars.  W.  J.  Stone,  now  president  of  the 
bank,  came  into  the  concern  April  1,  1907.  The  other  proprietors  of  the  bank 
are  members  of  the  McClure  estate.  Robert  A.  j\IcClure  died  in  1906.  The 
present  officers  of  the  bank  are  as  follows:  President,  W.  J.  Stone;  vice 
president,  ]\Irs.  Robert  A.  McClure;  cashier,  J.  C.  McClure;  assistant  cashier, 
W.  A.  Davidson. 

The  First  National  Bank  is  the  culmination  of  a  private  bank  organized 
in  1872  by  N.  T.  Burwell.  About  1876  IMr.  Burwell  took  into  partnership 
W.  J.  Wilson,  and  the  style  name  of  the  firm  became  Burwell  &  Wilson,  and 
so  continued  until  1880.  The  concern  was  reorganized  in  the  latter  year,  by 
the  admission  of  E.  0.  Leffel,  and  the  firm  name  became  Burwell,  Leffel  & 
Company. 

In  1882,  a  further  reorganization  took  i)lac('  wlien  Evan  ^lattinson  and 
Matthew  IMattinson,  his  father,  and  Washington  Wilson,  father  of  W.  J.  Wil- 
son, became  partners,  and  the  banking  firm  took  the  name  of  IMattinson,  Wilsor 
&  Company.  April  1,  1906,  Messrs.  Burwell  and  LefPel  r(>tiriiig,  a  chart(M' 
establishing  the  First  National  Bank  was  secured.  Evan  JMattinson  became 
the  first  president;  W.  II.  Simms,  vice  president;  E.  L.  Rockwood.  cashier;  Bry- 
son  Strauss,  assistant  cashier.  Capital  and  surplus,  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Gibson  City  has  three  railroads:  The  Illinois  Central,  Wabash  and  Lak<^ 
Erie  &  Western. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  127 


BUTTON  TOWNSHIP. 

Button  township  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Iroquois  county;  on  the  east 
by  Vermilion  county ;  on  the  south  by  Champaign  county,  and  on  the  west  by 
Patton  township.  It  is  situated  in  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the  county, 
lying  in  three  different  ranges  and  two  different  meridians.  It  is  six  miles 
north  to  south,  and  varying  from  five  to  six  miles  east  and  west.  This  town- 
ship is  favorably  located;  settled  with  thrifty,  industrious  people,  who  are 
mostly  well-to-do  farmers,  with  improvements  and  buildings  suitable  and 
adapted  to  the  day  and  age.  This  township  was  set  off  from  Patton  and  organ- 
ized in  December,  1864,  and  derived  its  name  from  James  Porter  Button,  its 
first  supervisor. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Button  township  were  Edward  Pyles,  John 
Rails  (two  squatters.  Cook  and  White),  Joshua  Trickel,  Robert  Trickel,  AV.  J. 
and  W.  R.  Trickel,  William  and  Samuel  Swinford,  0.  H.  Campbell,  Story  But- 
ton, David  Patton,  Matthew  Elliott,  Bennett  Lucas,  Jacob  Tanner,  John 
Dopps,  IMilton  Strayer,  Harmon  Strayer,  J.  B.  Strayer,  Joseph  Harris,  William 
Walker.  J.  II.  Flagg,  A.  F.  Flagg,  E.  Wait,  Eli  Dopps,  Spencer  Cushing,  Dan- 
iel Stamps,  William  IMcClintock,  David  Saunders,  William  Phebus,  Daniel 
Moudy,  William  Montgomery,  A.  Lance. 

" Trickel 's  Grove"  is  beyond  a  doubt  the  first  settled  locality  in  Button 
township  and  in  Ford  county.  A  few  squatters,  who  never  became  permanent 
settlers,  built  log  houses  and  lived  in  or  near  the  grove  prior  to  1835.  In 
1836,  two  brothers,  Joshua  and  Robert  Trickel,  located  at  the  grove  which  was 
then  a  part  of  Vermilion  county,  and  bought  out  these  squatters'  claims,  and 
we  have  every  reason  to  believe  the  Trickels  were  the  first  permanent  settlers 
of  what  is  now  Ford  county,  except  it  might  have  been  Andrew  Sprouls,  who 
occupied  for  a  short  time  what  was  afterward  the  W.  Walker  farm. 

The  first  schoolhouse  built  in  Button  township  was  of  logs,  and  located 
on  the  farm  owned  by  John  Rails  near  Trickel's  Grove.  This  farm  was  entered 
by  Edward  Pyles ;  afterward  owned  by  William  Swinford,  and  later  by  A.  L. 
Clark. 

The  first  schoolhouse  built  north  of  the  tim])or  on  the  prairie  was  located 
on  section  16,  near  the  Vermilion  county  line,  on  the  farm  which  was  later 
owned  by  A.  H.  Morrison. 

The  first  school  taught  in  the  township  was  by  Simon  Mitchell,  in  a  cabin 
belonging  to  Jacob  Tanner. 


128  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 


CLARENCE. 

Clarence  postoffice  (Kirk's  Station,  Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad)  is  a 
thriving  village  and  grain  center,  located  on  sections  7  and  8,  on  the  farms  of 
W.  T.  IMorrison  and  S.  I.  Hntchison.  It  was  surveyed  and  laid  out  by  Robert 
F.  Whitham  in  August,  1878.  The  village  is  surrounded  by  a  fine  farming 
country. 

The  following  are  sketches  of  the  early  settlers  and  other  prominent  men 
wlio  lived  and  are  yet  living  in  Button  township : 

James  Porter  Button  (deceased)  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Kentucky, 
January  29,  1822.  He  came  to  Ford  county  in  1852.  Mr.  Button  was  mar- 
ried to  i\Iiss  Sarah  R.  Hock,  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  February  8.  1845. 
They  have  had  a  family  of  eight  children.  Mr.  Button  entered  land  in  sec- 
tion 25,  town  23,  range  10,  in  the  township  which  now  bears  his  name.  Mr. 
Button  filled  many  positions  of  trust  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to 
his  constituents.  He  was  the  treasurer  of  Ford  county  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  at  Paxton  March  22,  1866. 

David  Patton  (deceased)  was  born  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  December  20, 
1815.  Thomas  Patton,  the  father  of  David,  emigrated  to  Vigo  or  Parke  coun- 
ties, Indiana,  when  David  was  about  three  years  old.  He  remained  there  only 
a  few  years.  In  1823  the  family  moved  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  where 
Thomas  Patton  died.  December  10,  1844,  David  was  married  to  Miss  Jane 
Cade,  daughter  of  William  Cade,  who  settled  in  Fountain  county  in  1823. 
November  2,  1854,  David  Patton  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Button  town- 
ship, then  in  Vermilion  county.  Here  he  resided  until  his  death,  February 
29,  1880.  He  entered  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  clioice  land  in  section 
23,  range  14  west,  in  Button  township.  There  were  eight  children.  The 
widow  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead. 

Matthew  Elliott  (deceased)  was  born  ^March  4,  1799,  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  When  about  twenty-one  years  old,  he  came  west  to  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  until  the  spring  of  1850;  then  came  to  Ford  county,  Illinois  (then 
Vermilion)  and  entered  land  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  25,  and  moved 
his  family  here  from  Ohio  in  the  spring  of  1852.  He  purchased  the  liome 
place  of  Benjamin  Stites,  who  entered  the  hmd  and  made  the  first  improve- 
ments in  Button  township.  Mr.  Elliott  died  August  23,  1881.  They  had  a 
family  of  five  children. 

Joshua  Trickkl  (deceased)  was  born  August  5,  1788,  in  Virginia.  IMary 
Triekel,  his  wife,  was  born  February  8,  1800.      William  Trickel,  son  of  Joshua 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH.  CLARENCE,  K.L. 


«» 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  131 

Triekel,  was  born  in  F'u[ua.  county,  Ohio,  October  17,  1820,  juul  came  to  Illinois 
with  his  parents  when  only  seven  years  old.  His  father  settled  at  Butler's 
Point,  in  Vermilion  county,  until  they  took  up  their  residence  in  Ford  county. 
Elizabeth,  Avife  of  William  Triekel,  was  born  in  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  July 
29,  1838.  Her  father,  Alexander  Henry,  was  an  old  settler  of  Iroquois  county, 
Illinois.       Mr.  and  Mrs.  Triekel  were  married  January  7.  1857. 

David  Saunders  was  the  first  to  buy  land  in  school  section  16,  afterward 
owned  and  improved  by  William  Phebus. 

Obadiah  Leneve  was  born  in  Halifax  county,  Virtjinia,  December  30,  1801. 
Samuel  Leneve,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  native  of  France, 
and  emigrated  to  America  with  his  brother  John.  The^'  came  to  this  country 
at  the  time  La  Fayette  and  his  troops  came  over  to  assist  the  Americans  in 
their  strife  with  England  for  the  independence  of  the  colonies.  John  Leneve, 
grandfather  of  Obadiah,  was  one  of  the  soldiers  who  came  over  with  General 
La  Fayette;  he  died  in  Virginia.  Samuel,  the  father  of  01)adiah,  was  about 
three  years  old  when  he  landecj  on  American  soil.  They  settled  in  Virginia 
near  the  old  Halifax  courthouse ;  here  he  grew  to  manhood  and  married  Katie 
Arrington,  a  native  of  that  place.  About  1806  he  emigrated  to  Tennessee, 
where  he  remained  about  one  year;  then  journeyed  on  to  Kentucky  and  settled 
in  Mercer  county ;  there  he  remained  eight  years ;  then  moved  to  Nelson  county ; 
then  again  moved  to  Sullivan  county,  Indiana,  and  settled  at  Shakers  Prairie. 
Here  he  remained  only  a  year,  when  he  made  his  last  move  to  Lawrence  county, 
Illinois,  and  resided  until  his  death  in  the  spring  of  1831.  Obadiah  was  mar- 
ried in  Lawrence  county,  Illinois,  to  Polly  Lemons,  a  native  of  Tennessee.  She 
died  in  May,  1878.  They  located  in  Vermilion  county  in  1821,  in  the  Newell 
settlement,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county.  They  had  a  family  of 
eight  children.  Mr.  Leneve  was  one  of  the  hard  working  and  successful  pion- 
eers of  Vermilion  and  Ford  counties.  Mrs.  Moudy  (deceased)  first  wife 
of  Daniel  Moudy,  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of  this  county,  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  this  old  pioneer.  Mr.  Leneve  died  in  Paxton,  February  4,  1881,  at  the 
home  of  one  of  his  nephews. 

Peter  Moudy  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  where  he  was  born  August  1, 
1801,  but  was  raised  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  where  his  father  moved  when  he 
was  an  infant.  Here  he  remained  until  1835.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Eliz- 
abeth Herring,  daughter  of  George  Herring,  December  25,  1825.  She  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  but  left  there  when  about  five  .years  old  and  was  raised 
in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  until  1835,  when  they  emigrated  to  Western  Indiana 
and  located  in  the  Wabash  valley.       In  Vermilion   county,   Indiana,   Daniel 


132  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

IMoiidy.  son  of  our  subject,  was  born  February  4.  1836.  Peter  INIondy  had 
a  family  of  twelve  children.  He  located  in  Vermilion  county.  Illinois,  in  the 
spring  of  1855,  where  he  resided  until  his  death.  ]\lay  7.  1875.  Daniel  INIoudy 
is  among"  the  early  settlers  of  Button  township,  coming  to  his  farm  place  in 
1859,  where  he  commenced  making  improvements  by  breaking  prairie  with  oxen. 
Very  few  settlers  had  located  north  of  the  timber  at  that  time.  ]\Ir.  ^Nloudy 
has  owned  several  fine  farms  in  this  townsliip,  comprising  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  in  all.  He  has  at  all  times  been  one  of  the  leading  and  progres- 
sive farmers  and  stock-raisers  of  Ford  county.  The  first  wife  of  i\Ir.  INIoudy 
was  a  daughter  of  Obadiah  Leneve,  an  old  pioneer  of  Vermilion  county,  Illi- 
nois. She  died  January  31,  1879.  Henrietta,  his  second  wife,  is  a  daughter 
of  0.  H.  Campbell,  an  early  settler  of  Ford  county. 

Obadiah  H.  Campbell  was  born  in  Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
December  17,  1811.  He  left  that  state  and  came  to  Indiana  in  1855;  remained 
there  till  the  spring  of  1856,  when  he  located  at  Trickel's  Grove,  buying  out 
the  heirs  of  Joshua  Trickel.  Mr.  Campbell  was  one  of  the  oldest  living  set- 
tlers of  Button  township,  and  owned  one  of  the  very  first  settled  places  in  Ford 
county,  owning  altogether  three  hundred  and  seventy-three  acres.  His  father, 
James  Campbell,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania  when 
fifteen  years  old.  He  died  there  at  an  advanced  age.  IMrs  0.  II.  Campbell 
(deceased)  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  She  was  liorn  in  1817  and  died  on 
the  2d  of  February,  1867.      They  had  a  family  of  nine  children. 

Jacob  Strayer,  father  of  ]\Iilton  and  Harmon  Strayer,  was  Ijorn  in  Berke- 
ley county,  Virginia,  in  1796 ;  he  came  to  Ford  county  in  1854,  and  lived  here 
until  he  died  January  3,  1879.  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  was  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  Ohio,  August  1,  1803.     She  died  June  21,  1883. 

Milton  StRxVYEr  was  born  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana.  In  September, 
1851,  he  moved  to  Ford  county  on  the  line  of  Champaign  county,  and  entered 
the  land  where  La  Fayette  Patton  lived.  In  1854,  ]\Ir.  Strayer  moved  onto 
his  farm  on  section  25,  in  the  narrow  range  of  sections  in  this  townshi}),  which 
land  he  entered  in  1853.  He  was  married,  August  31,  1851,  to  ]\Iiss  Sarah 
Jane  Midcllebrook,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  "William  IMiddlebrook, 
who  located  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  about  1841.  ]\Ir.  and  i\Irs.  Strayer 
have  had  ten  children. 

Harmon  Strayer,  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Strayer,  was  l)orn  in  Fair- 
field county,  Ohio,  September  20,  1820.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  Foun- 
tain county,  Indiana,  in  1824.       He  came  here  in  the  fall  of  1851.       In  1858 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  133 

ho  assessed  all  the  lands  in  Ford  eounty,  then  Patton  township,  Vermilion 
county.  In  1858,  he  married  ]\Iiss  Martha  IMcClure,  daughter  of  Samuel 
McClure,  an  early  settler  of  Cass  county,  Indiana.  She  was  born  in  Ohio. 
They  had  a  family  of  four  children. 

Joseph  Harris  was  born  in  (lermany,  JMarch  25,  1888.  When  nineteen 
years  old  he  came  to  America,  and  in  1857,  located  in  Ford  county.  In  1860 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  ]\Iiss  Josephine  Strayer,  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Elizabeth  Strayer.  She  was  born  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana.  They  had 
nine  children.  Mr.  Harris,  for  five  years,  worked  by  the  month.  In  1865, 
he  bought  land  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

J.  C.  KiRKPATRiCK  was  bom  in  Adams  county,  Ohio.  He  came  to  Button 
township  in  1861,  settling  on  section  17.  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Sarah  A.  White,  of  Oak  Grove,  McLean  county.  They  had 
eight  children.  Several  years  ago  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in 
Clarence ;  he  also  dealt  in  grain,  coal,  lumber  and  agricultural  implements. 

William  A.  Hutchison  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  Ohio.  He  came  to 
Ford  county  in  1868.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Ghormley,  of  Ohio, 
His  father,  Samuel  Hutchison,  helped  lay  out  the  village  of  Clarence.  The 
su):»ject  of  our  sketch  was  postmaster  of  Clarence  and  also  ran  a  grocery  store, 

David  A.  Frederick  was  Ijorn  in  IMiddlesex  county,  Massachusetts,  and  came 
to  Ford  county  in  1857. 

Hugh  McCormick  was  born  in  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  came 
to  Ford  county  in  April,  1866,  settling  on  section  9. 

William  Ppiebus  was  born  in  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  and  settled  in  Ford 
county  in  1865. 

William  T.  Patton,  a  son  of  David  Patton,  w^as  ])orn  in  Fountain  county, 
Indiana,  and  came  to  Button  township  in  1854,  locating  on  section  33. 

James  H.  and  Arthur  F.  Flagg,  brothers,  natives  of  the  state  of  Maine. 
James  H.  came  west  and  settled  in  Button  township  in  1859.  Arthur  F.  came 
to  this  township  in  1861. 

iMiTCHEL  A.  Karr,  son  of  John  Karr,  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio, 
and  came  west  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Button  with  his  father  in  186-1. 

William  T.  Morrison  was  a  native  of  Adams  county,  Ohio,  and  settled  in 
this  township  in  1868.  He  lived  closed  to  the  village  of  Clarence,  in  one  of 
the  finest  houses  in  Button  township. 

Albert  J.  Pool,  a  native  of  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  settled  in  Button 
township  in  1873. 


134  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

William  jMontgomery,  a  native  of  Shelby  county,  Indiaua,  settled  in  Ford 
county  in  1857. 

WiLLLVM  Walker,  a  native  of  Waye  county.  Indiana.  He  settled  in  this 
county  in  1859. 

J.  E.Walker,  or  Elmer  Walker,  was  born  in  Fountain  county.  Indiana,  in 
1858,  and  that  year  came  with  his  parents  to  this  townsliip. 

Samuel  Parsons,  a  native  of  England,  settled  in  this  township  in  1869. 
ownin»'  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixtv  acres. 


THE  FOLLOWING  ARE  EXCERPTS  FROM    AN   INTERESTING   VOLUME,   ENTITLED 
"remembrances   OF    A   PIONEER,"   PUBLISHED   IN   BOOK    FORM    IN 
1904,   BY   MRS   JANE  PATTON,  WHO  IS  STILL   LIVING  ON   THE 
OLD     HOMESTEAD     IN     BUTTON     TOWNSHIP. 

In  1884,  my  husband  and  I  moved  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  We  bid 
farewell  to  the  home  of  our  childhood  and  the  homes  that  we  had  lived  in  and 
the  p:ood  people  that  had  lived  there.  Some  of  them  live  there  yet,  and  I  love 
to  visit  those  old  scenes  of  my  young-  days.  How  sweet  is  their  memory  after 
so  many  years  spent  away  from  them ! 

The  day  we  loaded  our  wagons  to  leave  for  Illinois,  we  had  a  house  and  yard 
full  of  people.  They  were  so  glad  to  get  us  away  that  they  all  wanted  to  help 
us  start.  They  made  us  a  barrel  of  kraut,  and  loaded  five  wagons,  and  al)out 
sundown  we  came  across  the  creek  to  one  of  the  places  that  I  never  get  tired  of 
going  to,  that  was  my  Aunt  Jane  Campbell's  and  Uncle  Samuel  and  Joseph 
Campbell's  and  spent  the  night.  It  was  a  hard  trial  to  leave  all  the  relatives 
and  neighbors  behind, — ]\Irs.  Harshbarger,  ]\Irs.  Dice,  Mrs.  Greenley,  an  1  many 
more  that  had  been  good  to  me  in  so  many  ways,  besides  all  the  relatives,  but  we 
had  decided  to  come,  and  I  think  it  was  for  the  best  that  we  did. 

We  were  two  days  on  the  road.  We  brought  two  cows,  four  horses, 
chickens  and  turkeys.  We  stayed  at  Mr.  Joseph  Delay's,  six  or  seven  miles  from 
the  State  line  city,  and  ate  dinner  at  INIarysville,  what  is  Potomac  now.  We  got 
to  our  future  home  in  the  afternoon,  in  time  to  unload  our  goods  and  put  up 
four  beds  and  the  cook  stove.  These  were  essential  things  that  night,  for  there 
were  five  men  came  with  us  besides  our  own  family;  they  came  to  drive  the  teams 
and  have  a  good  time,  and  th('\'  liad  it.  We  had  brought  lots  of  things  cooked, 
and  had  a  turkey  for  tlie  first  meal  in  our  new  home,  and  we  all  enjoyed  our 
supper  that  evening. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  135 

That  was  Thursday  evening,  and  all  stayed  with  us  until  IMonday  morning, 
and  then  started  for  home.  They  had  all  seen  those  black  prairies,  but  before 
they  started  for  home  they  visited  the  deep  cut  prairie,  Prospect  City,  what  was 
afterward  Paxton,  but  the  railroad  was  the  object  in  view.  None  of  them  had 
ever  seen  a  railroad,  as  far  as  I  know.  I  know  I  had  not.  There  was  only  one 
house  in  Paxton,  or  what  is  Paxton  now.  The  IMr.  Stites'  family  was  there,  and 
the  trains  stopped  when  needed. 

The  boys  wanted  to  get  something  to  take  home  with  them,  and  found  some 
beans  for  sale,  and  bought  them  to  take  home.  They  wanted  to  kill  a  deer  to 
take  home,  but  did  not  get  to  do  that,  but  got  some  venison  some  place,  I  think, 
but  am  not  sure  of  that.  Deer  were  plenty  then,  for  you  could  see  them  almost 
every  morning  going  from  the  timber  out  on  the  prairie,  but  they  could  see  you 
about  as  soon  as  you  would  see  them. 

]\Ir.  Patton  went  back  to  Indiana  in  December,  and  took  the  boys  back  there 
to  go  to  school.       There  was  no  school  here  that  winter. 

The  Illinois  Central  commenced  to  run  trains  the  spring  that  we  came  here : 
in  the  fall  there  was  no  railroad  at  Danville,  Illinois.  Then  men  came  to  our 
house  from  Covington  and  the  country  around  there  more  than  once  to  go  to 
Loda  or  Paxton  and  take  the  train  to  Chicago. 

I  forgot  to  tell  the  names  of  the  ones  who  came  with  us  when  we  moved  to 
this  country — Obidah  ^larlatt,  long  since  dead,  my  uncle,  Samuel  Campbell, 
Joseph  Douglas,  a  cousin,  and  my  own  brother,  S.  Cade. 

The  first  Sunday  ]\Irs.  William  Robison  came.  I  had  never  met  her,  but 
she  and  ]\Ir.  Robison  came  here  from  Fountain  county.  Some  of  the  Robisons 
and  Woods  live  there  yet.  They  lived  in  the  field  just  south  of  here,  but  there 
is  no  house  there  now.      She  died  the  next  June. 

She  came  the  first  Sunday  and  was  very  cheerful  and  friendly.  It  did  me 
lots  of  good  to  have  a  neighbor  so  soon.  She  helped  me  just  as  if  she  had  always 
known  me,  but  she  was  taken  suddenly  sick  of  inflammation  of  the  stomach,  and 
died.      We  miss  our  friends  when  they  are  gone,  and  do  not  forget  their  kindness. 

I  will  now  tell  about  who  lived  here  when  we  came  here  that  fall.  Uncle 
Tommy  Lion  lived  at  Sugar  Grove  then — in  the  house  that  has  always  stood 
there  until  lately.  Mr.  Riffle  bought  ]Mr.  Lion  out.  and  then  Mr.  Patton 
bought  the  land  of  I\lr.  Biftle.  Mr.  Hiram  Driskal  and  his  family  lived  on  the 
Driskal  farm.  All  these  have  gone  to  their  long  homes,  Mrs.  Driskal  lately. 
A  Dr.  Ilobert  lived  in  what  is  now  a  cattle  pasture,  just  east  of  the  Sugar  Grove 
schoolhouse.  His  family  all  died,  three  or  four  with  what  is  known  as  milk 
sickness,  and  then  he  left  and  got  married  again,  and  then  died.       Vannata 


136  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

lived  at  what  is  known  as  the  Lamb  farm ;  ^Mr.  David  ^Morehouse  lived  where 
Joseph  Kerr  lives  now;  ^Ir.  Jesse  Piles  lived  on  tlie  Piles  farm,  the  farthest  out 
from  the  timber.  IMrs.  Piles  still  lives  in  Iloopeston,  but  Mr.  Piles  had  gone  to 
his  long  home.  Estrige  Daniels  lived  on  the  farm  that  La  Fayette  Patton  lives 
on,  but  the  house  was  over  in  the  field.  Elihu  Daniels  lived  south  of  William 
iMoudy's.       There  is  no  house  there  now. 

Three  families  of  Tanners  lived  up  close  to  where  the  frame  and  brick 
churches  are  now;  the  father,  old  Mr.  Tanner,  lived  west  of  the  brick  church,  and 
Peter  lived  southeast,  close  to  the  frame  church,  and  John  lived  north.  Uncle 
John  Dobbs,  as  every  one  called  him,  lived  between  the  two  churches,  on  a  farm 
known  as  the  old  Walker  home.  His  house  was  the  place  where  we  all  went  to 
church,  had  preaching  every  three  weeks,  and  class  meeting  every  Sabbath, 
something  we  do  not  have  now. 

The  house  was  a  large  hewed  log  house,  with  a  fireplace,  and  room  for  three 
beds,  and  for  all  the  people  that  there  was  to  come.  Uncle  John  D<ibbs  was 
class  leader,  and  a  good  one.       I  would  like  to  go  to  a  meeting  of  that  kind  now. 

There  was  John  P.  Dobbs.  and  he  lived  close  there,  but  the  next  spring  he 
moved  out  on  the  prairie,  not  far  from  old  Pellsville,  the  farthest  out  of  any  one 
then.  He  built  a  house  with  one  room  upstairs  and  one  room  downstairs. 
Obidah  IMarlatt  gave  it  the  name  of  the  North  Pole,  and  that  was  the  name  of  the 
neighborhood  for  a  while.  That  was  the  first  house  north  of  us  until  we  got  to 
Ash  Grove.  That  spring  two  more  families  moved  out  on  the  prairie,  ]\Ir.  Dove 
and  Mr.  Shannon,  one  east  of  us,  and  Mr.  Dove  northeast  of  us.  I  remember 
seeing  Mr.  Dove's  team  the  first  trip  he  made  with  the  material  for  his  house.  I 
think  the  team  nuist  have  been  three  miles  from  our  house.  There  was  nothing 
there  then  but  the  prairie  grass,  green  or  brown,  as  the  season  might  be.  South- 
east of  our  home  half  a  mile,  Harmon  Strayer  and  his  brother  John  lived,  and 
northwest  of  us  about  three  miles  ]\Iilton  Strayer  lived.  He  is  remembered  as 
one  of  the  good  men  of  this  world.  He  was  kindness  to  perfection  ;  and  IMattlunv 
Elliott,  father  of  W.  H.  II.  Elliott,  and  he  and  his  family  were  all  IMethodists  of 
the  old-time  religion.  Their  house  was  the  first  house  I  ever  ate  in  away  from 
home,  after  coming  to  Illinois.  We  went  to  church  to  our  home.  Uncle  John 
Dopps,  and  went  there  for  dinner.  We  had  venison  for  dinner,  I  remember. 
I  thought  then  we  had  good  people  here,  and  I  think  so  yet.  We  had  been  here 
about  three  weeks  then.  There  has  been  regular  preaching  by  the  IMethodist 
preachers  right  in  the  same  place.  Only  a  short  time  after  Uncle  John  Dopps 
went  away,  preaching  w^as  in  the  schoolhouse  until  the  church  was  built. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  137 

I  Avould  like  to  tell  the  names  of  the  ministers  that  have  been  here  in  these 
forty-four  years,  but  I  think  many  of  them  are  reaping  their  reward,  and  their 
works  do  follow  them.  I  will  not  say  anything  more  about  this  eventful  year  at 
the  present  time. 

1885.  That  winter  was  one  of  the  cold,  stormy  winters  of  that  time,  and 
we  got  the  full  benefit  of  the  winds  and  the  snow.  I  think  the  snow  stayed  on 
the  ground  perhaps  six  weeks  or  more,  and  cold  all  the  time,  and  only  two  rooms 
to  our  house,  and  a  smokehouse  and  a  stable  for  the  horses  and  two  cows ;  no 
fence,  only  a  pen  for  the  corn  fodder  for  the  cows  and  horses.  W^.  bought  that, 
and  the  cows  would  stay  for  the  feed,  for  there  Avas  no  fence  to  keep  them. 

Mr.  Patton  hired  the  rails  made  to  fence  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land,  a  good  fence  staked  and  tow  rails  on  the  top,  and  INIr.  Patton  and  Obe 
Marlatt  hauled  all  the  rails  to  fence  it,  through  the  storms  and  snows.  Some- 
times the  snow  would  blow  and  drift  so  that  we  could  not  see  the  tracks  of  the 
wagon  of  the  next  load.  I  could  see  them  when  they  left  the  timber,  and  get 
almost  any  kind  of  a  dinner,  except  cook  dry  beans,  before  they  would  get  home 
to  dinner.  It  was  a  mile  and  three  Cjuarters  straight  west  of  the  house  where 
we  lived  to  the  edge  of  the  timber  where  they  got  the  rails,  and  I  could  see  them 
very  plainly. 

In  the  after  part  of  the  winter  Obe  Marlatt  went  to  Bloomington  after 
plows  to  break  the  prairie ;  that  was  as  near  as  they  could  be  gotten.  He  bought 
five,  some  for  the  neighbors.  I  think  if  some  of  the  people  had  to  do  as  we  did 
they  would  think  they  would  have  a  hard  time  now.  Well,  that  spring  it  was 
break  prairie  witli  our  own  four-horse  team  and  an  ox  team.  The  man  broke 
by  the  acre,  $2.50  per  acre,  broke  and  planted  sowed  corn,  about  one  hundred 
and  forty  acres,  and  raised  the  best  vegetables  of  all  kinds,  melons,  pumpkins 
by  the  wagon-load,  and  the  best  corn.  We  sold  one  hundred  acres  of  it  to  cattle 
feeders  the  next  fall  for  five  hundred  dollars,  and  was  pleased  with  our  year's 
Avork. 

In  the  spring  we  built  two  rooms  to  our  house,  and  dug  a  cistern,  fenced  in 
a  garden,  and  put  an  addition  to  the  stal)le. 

Money  was  very  plentiful  that  summer  or  spring.  John  Adamson  that 
lived  at  Covington,  brought  two  hundred  and  over  of  four-year-old  steers  to  be 
herded  on  the  prairie,  and  they  were  so  large  and  got  so  fat  on  the  grass  without 
any  expense  except  to  pay  the  herder  and  for  salt,  the  prairie  grass  was  so  fine. 

1856  was  another  year  of  improvement.  We  set  out  the  fence  to  take  in 
more  land,  hauled  more  rails,  and  built  two  houses  on  the  farm  that  winter  for 
two  tenants  to  move  on  the  farm  in  the  spring. 


138  IIISTOKY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

That  spring  I  was  sick,  had  a  spell  of  fever,  mikI  had  a  girl  to  stay  with  me. 
I  had  gotten  so  I  did  not  need  her,  and  she  was  going  home  Sunday  morning,  but 
Saturday  evening  she  took  a  chill  and  was  so  bad  Sunday  Ave  sent  for  her  aunt, 
Mrs.  Solomon  Koder,  but  we  did  not  know  anything  about  the  disease  then.  It 
M^as  spinal  or  spotted  fever,  and  the  doctor  nor  any  one  else  could  do  any  good, 
as  doctors  fail  in  most  cases  of  that  disease.  Her  name  was  Nancy  Skinner. 
There  were  three  of  them.  They  were  orphan  children,  and  their  aunt,  ]\Irs. 
Koder,  had  raised  them.  All  three  of  them  were  about  grown,  and  all  of  them 
died  in  a  very  short  time.  They  had  such  a  good  home  with  their  aunt  and 
uncle. 

That  summer  everything  was  corn.  We  could  not  see  the  country  so  far 
away,  and  the  people  had  come  to  the  country  so  fast  that  there  were  new  houses 
on  all  sides  of  us.  There  was  lots  of  corn,  and  no  sale  for  it,  unless  cattlemen 
came  in  with  cattle  to  feed  the  corn  to.  Corn  would  grow  then  if  you  planted 
it,  without  any  tnmble.  The  weeds  had  not  got  a  start  then,  only  the  tumble- 
weeds,  and  they  would  roll  over  the  field  and  lodge  against  the  fences  as  high  as 
the  fence. 

1857  was  a  new  year,  and  how  manv  times  we  make  resolves  to  lead  a  better 
life  if  these  things  concern  our  future  welfare  which  it  should.  If  we  start 
wrong  in  our  work  we  are  very  sure  to  come  out  wrong,  unless  we  repent  and  go 
back  and  do  our  work  over  again.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  make  good  resolutions 
than  it  is  to  keep  them.  I  have  found  this  true  all  through  life.  How  true  the 
words  prove,  "Prone  to  wander.  Lord,  I  feel  it,  prone  to  leave  the  God  I  love." 

This  winter  we  did  not  do  much  work  on  the  farm  and  improve  it  so  nuu'h. 
and  March  2;3d  there  came  to  our  house  another  baby  boy.  We  called  him 
Charles  Delaware,  the -Delaware  being  the  name  chosen  by  his  oldest  brother. 

This  summer  was  the  same;  plow,  raise  corn,  cut  prairie  grass,  and  cut  up 
corn,  and  have  lots  of  men  to  work,  as  we  always  had.  But  the  last  of  this 
year  there  came  the  greatest  calamity  that  we  were  ever  called  to  pass  through. 
Mattie,  our  oidy  girl,  came  home  from  school  sick  with  what  proved  to  be  cerebral 
spinal  fever  and  as  spotted  fever.  She  was  very  bad  from  the  first,  and  her 
suffering  was  simply  agonizing.  Her  muscles  were  contracted,  and  sometimes 
her  head  would  be  drawn  to  her  hij)s  almost  like  a  hoo]).  We  had  a  Dr.  Courtny 
from  Blue  Grass  Grove,  and  a  Dr.  Whitmore,  l)ut  they  did  not  do  any  good, 
neither  do  I  think  any  other  doctor  would.  Their  princip;il  medicine  was 
solelia. 

She  was  very  sick  eight  weeks.  When  we  would  go  to  turn  her  in  bed  and 
let  her  limbs  fall  it  would  almost  l<ill  liei-  ])ut  she  lived  through  all  this  intense 


SOUTH  MARKET  STREET,  PAXTOX 


ETISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  141 

suffering.  So  ninny  times  she  would  have  spasms,  and  we  would  think  she  would 
not  live  one  hour,  but  she  got  over  all  this  suffering  without  being  left  with  some 
mark  of  it  for  life.      She  was  past  seven  years  old  at  that  time. 

One  or  two  days  after  IMattie  was  taken,  LaFayette  was  taken  bad  also.  He 
had  more  fever,  and  his  muscles  did  not  contract  so  much;  it  was  more  in  his 
head,  and  it  has  left  its  mark  with  him  for  life,  for  he  has  always  been  deaf  ever 
since  that  time.  He  had  gone  to  school  just  two  or  three  days.  He  was  sick 
seven  weeks,  and  when  he  got  better  so  he  was  conscious  and  knew  us,  we  did  not 
know  that  he  had  lost  his  hearing,  and  was  to  be  deaf  all  his  days.  But  one 
niglit  some  one  was  there  and  brought  a  little  dog,  and  it  came  close  to  his  bed 
and  lie  laughed  at  it.  AVe  talked  to  him  about  it  and  he  would  not  say  a  word, 
and  then  we  knew  he  could  not  hear,  but  it  never  came  to  my  mind  that  it  was 
to  be  permanent,  or  it  would  have  lieen  much  harder  to  bear.  His  speech  did 
not  leave  him.  He  just  forgot  most  of  the  words,  being  so  young,  just  two  or 
three  weeks  past  four  years  old,  and  he  says' words  yet. 

There  was  living  at  our  house  wnth  us  a  good,  sweet  girl.  Her  name  was 
IMargaret  Shoey.  She  had  been  with  us  about  a  year  and  a  half.  She  had  a 
mother  and  an  inhuman  stepfather,  and  the  neighbors  got  her  away  from  them. 
Mr.  Dove  had  lived  close  to  them,  and  got  us  to  go  and  get  her,  but  she  hid  from 
him  the  first  time,  and  the  second  time  she  just  told  him  she  would  not  go. 

She  took  the  same  as  the  others  had  Saturday  evening.  Both  doctors  were 
there,  but  there  was  no  help  for  her.  The  spots  were  more  marked  than  on  our 
own  two  children.  She  died  Monday  night  or  Tuesday  morning  at  one  or  two 
0  'clock. 

The  disease  was  epidemic.  There  were  fourteen  deaths  in  the  surrounding 
country,  but  our  neighborhood  suffered  the  most.  One  little  girl  about  two 
years  old,  Sl.>^'ester  King,  half  a  mile  north  of  our  home,  died.  She  was  sick 
just  two  or  three  days.  John  Wilson's  half  a  mile  southeast  of  us,  lost  a  sweet 
little  girl  about  the  same  age ;  and  INIrs.  David  Morehouse,  half  a  mile  south  of  us. 
All  these  were  taken  away  in  two  or  three  days'  sickness. 

We  were  all  just  like  one  family  around  there  then.  I  left  my  own  sick 
ones  to  go  and  prepare  the  bodies  of  those  that  had  died.  I  speak  of  when  our 
house  was  full  of  people  helping  us  with  our  sick  ones. 

There  were  no  trained  nurses  then,  and  no  coffins  kept  in  the  furniture 
store  for  sale.  The  first  thing  after  death  was  to  straighten  the  body  and  take 
the  measure  for  a  coffin,  and  go  to  the  carpenter's  and  get  a  coffin  made,  for  that 
would  take  some  time  and  the  funeral  would  be  appointed  accordingly.  I  have 
helped  take  the  measure  of  a  great  many  people  for  a  coffin,  for  I  was  a  born 


142  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

leader  in  takinji'  eare  of  the  sick  and  caring  for  the  dead.  I  commenced  that 
kind  of  work  before  I  was  married.  I  remember  a  little  baby  just  a  few  days  old 
that  I  took  on  my  lap  and  dressed  for  tlie  grave,  when  I  was  not  more  than 
seventeen  years  old.      I  think  this  will  sound  strange  to  some. 

1858  came  with  all  of  the  sickness  and  death.  Some  had  died  before  the 
new  year  came,  and  some  after  it  came  in.  ^Ir.  Elihu  Daniels,  south  of  the 
Will  ]\Ioudy  farm,  died,  and  ]\Ir.  Lucas  had  a  daughter  about  fourteen  years  old 
to  die ;  A  Mr.  INIullen,  that  lived  west  of  the  brick  church,  had  two  little  children 
that  lived  with  them.  They  had  no  children  of  their  own,  and  these  two  died. 
I  think  the  disease  Avas  not  contagious,  but  it  was  epidemic.  I  never  want  to 
see  another  time  like  that.  There  was  a  family  lived  east  on  our  farm.  Their 
names  were  Ilartman.  They  jiLst  stayed  at  our  house.  They  had  two  little 
girls,  and  they  slept  on  the  bed  with  our  sick  children.  Mr.  Ilartman  would 
only  go  home  to  feed  his  things,  sometimes  for  two  or  three  days;  then  they 
would  go  home  to  sleep  and  rest,  and  come  again,  and  his  brother  stayed  all  the 
time,  and  their  children  never  took  the  disease.  Who  can  forget  the  people 
that  do  so  nuich  for  you  in  such  distress  and  affliction?  The  people  did  not  do 
any  work  around  there,  only  what  had  to  be  done,  and  went  where  they  were 
needed  the  most.  I  could  write  about  it,  and  never  get  done  telling  how  good 
the  people  were  to  us,  and  all  the  rest  that  had  sickness  and  death  in  their  family. 
The  tears  will  come  sometimes  yet  wli£n  I  think  of  it. 

That  spring  the  creeks  were  very  high.  AVe  could  not  cross  the  middle 
fork  of  the  Vermilion  for  six  weeks,  there  was  so  nuuli  rain,  and  no  bridges  then. 
There  was  a  man  drowned  that  spring  in  the  creek,  close  to  Charley  Wood's  home 
and  it  was  more  than  a  week  before  the  body  was  gotten  out  of  the  creek. 

IMr.  Patton's  father  came  out  to  see  us  that  spring,  and  went  home  and  took 
sick,  and  died  ]\Iay  31,  1858.  Some  one  came  after  Mr.  Piitton,  aiid  he  went  and 
found  his  father  very  sick.  He  stayed  a  few  days  and  then  came  home,  but  he 
was  soon  sent  for  again  to  attend  the  funeral. 

The  east  fork  of  the  Vermilion  was  very  high.  He  went  horseback,  and 
had  to  swim  bis  horse  to  get  over  the  creek.  No  way  to  go  on  the  railroad  and  no 
telegraph  dispatches  then. 

We  took  a  wagon  and  went  over  into  liuliaiia  in  August  to  attend  the  sale 
of  the  personal  property,  Mr.  Patton  and  bis  brother  being  the  administrators 
of  his  father 's  estate. 

1859  came,  and  nothing  special  happened  until  fall,  when  >\lr.  Patton  rented 
out  our  farm  here  to  a  Mr.  Hunt  and  Isaac  Brown,  of  Indiana,  for  five  years, 
and  made  arrangements  to  move  ])ack  to  Indiana,  his  father  having  left  him  a 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  143 

farm.  He  had  two  wagons  loaded  to  go  back,  but  I  was  not  very  much  in  favor 
of  going-  and  leaving  more  here  than  we  could  get  there.  That  night  after 
supper  ]Mr.  Patton  came  down  to  "Sir.  Wm.  Robinson's  and  bought  his  farm  of 
two  hundred  acres  of  land,  the  forty  that  our  house  is  on  and  the  one  hundred 
and  sixty  south  of  our  home.  We  never  thought  of  going  back  to  Indiana 
since,  but  loved  to  go  and  visit,  and  to  see  the  old  home  of  my  childhood,  but  the 
most  of  the  ones  that  I  knew  so  well  are  gone. 

1860.  And  who  is  it  that  is  fifty  or  sixty  years  of  age  that  does  not  remem- 
ber the  first  five  years  of  the  sixties;  about  Abraham  Lincoln  and  the  war  times, 
and  how  we  would  watcli  for  the  news  if  we  did  not  have  any  friends  there. 

That  spring  we  moved  from  the  house  we  had  lived  in  about  one-quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  house  I  call  home  now,  into  a  double  hewed  log  house,  wnth  an 
entry  between  them.  On  January  22d  there  was  another  one  added  to  our 
family,  and  we  called  him  Franklin.  He  was  a  very  delicate  little  one  and 
always  was  through  life. 

We  built  our  house  that  fall  under  many  difficulties.  The  first  house  we 
lived  in  the  luml)er  was  all  hauled  from  Indiana,  and  we  expected  to  have  the 
inside  work  of  our  present  house  of  black  walnut  lumber,  but  got  it  home  from 
Indiana,  and  put  it  in  a  kiln  to  dry,  and  it  took  fire  and  all  burned  np,  except 
enough  for  our  front  door,  three  wagon  loads.  All  the  lumber  was  hauled 
from  Paxton,  and  the  brick  for  the  cellar  from  Ten  IMile  Grove,  the  other  side  of 
Paxton.  In  October,  William  went  to  get  a  load  of  brick,  and  as  he  was  coming 
home  he  had  a  barrel  on  his  wagon  on  top  of  the  brick,  and  he  Avas  on  top  of  the 
barrel.  The  barrel  fell  off  and  he  also,  and  the  wagon  ran  over  his  legs  and 
mashed  one  of  them  as  wide  as  the  wagon  tire,  so  some  of  the  pieces  of  bone  were 
on  the  outside  of  his  leg  when  I  got  to  where  he  was.  He  crawled  to  the  horses 
and  unhitched  them  and  got  on  and  rode  one  of  the  horses  to  ]\Ir.  IMontgomery's 
and  we  were  sent  for. 

]\Ir.  Patton  was  after  cattle  up  at  Paxton.  He  was  sent  for  and  brought  two 
doctors.  Dr.  L.  B.  Farrar  and  a  Dr.  Smith  of  Loda,  and  we  had  sent  for  a  doctor 
five  or  six  miles  south  of  our  home.  We  got  him  home  about  midnight,  and  all 
three  doctors  held  a  consultation.  Two  doctors  were  for  amputation,  but  Dr. 
Farrar  would  not  give  up  to  have  it  done,  and  the  doctors  set  the  limb  and  Dr. 
Farrar  took  the  case.  Billy,  as  we  called  him,  had  almost  bled  to  death  before 
the  doctors  got  there,  and  the  doctor  had  cold  water  poured  on  his  limb  for  sev- 
eral days  every  half  hour  or  so,  and  saved  his  foot,  and  Dr.  Farrar,  of  Paxton, 
should  have  all  the  credit  that  Billy  Patton  has  two  feet  to  walk  on  to-day. 


U4  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Well,  I  did  not  have  a  very  easy  time  that  fall —  all  the  carpenters  and  the 
men  to  cut  corn,  for  that  had  to  be  done  if  we  got  anything  for  the  corn;  Billy 
and  a  sickly  baby  to  care  for.  I  had  two  girls  to  work  for  me  some  of  the  time. 
Mr.  Antony  Godson  worked  here,  and  the  girl  that  afterwards  became  his  wife, 
Snsan  Keplinger.  John  Harmon  that  lives  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  did  the 
outside  carpenter  w^ork,  but  had  Uncle  John  Koder  and  a  IMr.  William  Civill  to 
help,  and  after  the  building  was  enclosed  Mr.  Kucler  did  the  inside  work  and  Mr. 
AVm.  Kinmin  did  the  mason  work — the  fastest  man  I  ever  saw  work  at  any  kind 
of  work. 

1861  came  as  all  years  do,  and  we  had  moved  in  our  new  house,  which  was  a 
good  one  for  those  times  in  this  country,  full  tAvo  stories  high,  with  tive  rooms 
above  and  four  below,  and  a  cellar  under  the  house.  It  has  been  a  comfortable 
home  for  forty  years,  but  sorrows  have  come  often,  and  pleasant  times  also.  If  it 
were  possible  for  me  to  live  in  this  house  for  forty  more  years  and  I  would  take 
care  of  it  as  I  have  done,  it  would  be  a  good  house  at  the  end  of  eighty  years  if 
fire  or  cyclone  did  not  destroy  it. 

The  first  glass  window^s  in  the  sitting  room  are  all  good,  and  never  one  pane 
of  glass  has  been  broken  out  after  forty  years. 

I  would  like  to  see  all  the  different  people  that  have  made  their  homes  for  a 
long  and  some  for'  a  shorter  time  with  us  in  this  house  in  the  forty  years  that 
it  has  been  my  home.  IMany  have  gone  to  their  long  home  that  had  a  home  wnth 
us  and  were  employed  by  us  to  work  in  the  house  and  on  the  farm.  I  would  like 
to  see  them  all  at  one  table.       I  think  it  would  reach  a  long  way. 

1862  came  and  passed  without  any  special  incident  to  our  family,  only  the 
same  routine  of  work  that  comes  to  people  in  every-day  life.  The  horrors  of  the 
Civil  War  were  thought  more  of  than  anything  else  those  times,  and  how  anxious 
we  were  to  hear  from  the  ones  that  left. 

1863  came  and  without  incident,  only  we  had  plenty  of  work  to  do.  We 
had  a  large  drove  of  cattle  that  year,  and  herded  them  on  the  prairies  that  sum- 
mer. We  did  lots  of  farming,  and  raised  wheat,  at  that  time,  here  on  the 
prairie  better  than  can  be  raised  now  on  the  prairie. 

In  June  that  year,  the  2r)th,  there  came  a  little  girl  lo  oui-  home,  and  we 
called  her  Ida  J.,  and  she  made  lots  of  racket  most  of  the  time  when  her  eyes 
were  open. 

That  December  l^illy  came  home  from  Indiaiuipolis.  He  liad  been  tliere  at 
school,  and  soon  after  coming  home  to  spend  the  holidays  took  the  lung  fever  and 
was  very  bad  sick ;  and  one  week  aft(>r  that,  his  father  took  sick  with  the  same  dis- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  145 

ease.      I  suppose  yon  would  call  it  pneumonia  now.     This  year  had  a  sad  ending 
to  us. 

1864  came  as  no  other  year  that  I  ever  saw,  and  never  to  be  forgotten.  The 
first  day  of  that  year  was  the  worst  storm  or  blizzard.  You  could  not  see  three 
steps  from  you,  and  it  was  so  cold  that  you  would  freeze  in  a  very  short  time. 
Sammy  Patton  and  a  Mr.  Smith  had  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  head  of  cattle 
about  one  mile  east  of  our  house  that  they  fed  shock  corn  to,  and  they  would 
never  have  gotten  home  that  day  if  it  had  not  been  that  there  was  a  rail  fence 
that  they  got  close  to  and  followed  to  our  hous(>  and  liarn.  Tlicre  was  a  number  of 
people  perished  that  day  and  night  in  Illinois.  So  man^'  school  children  started 
home  and  were  lost  by  the  way,  and  lost  their  lives  or  limbs. 

Mr.  John  Wilson,  a  neighbor,  lost  over  one  hundred  head  of  hogs  in  that 
storm.  Dr.  L.  B.  Farrar  came  next  morning  to  see  our  sick  folk,  and  stopped 
on  the  v/ay  and  warmed  at  Mr.  Button's  and  when  he  came  to  our  house  he  was 
so  cold  he  could  hardly  get  to  the  house,  and  the  snow  was  drifted  so  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  get  any  place.  Almost  all  the  chickens  in  the  country 
froze  to  death. 

Mr.  Patton  took  sick  that  New- Year's  day  and  Dr.  Farrar  was  attending  to 
Billy,  and  then  we  sent  to  Urbana  for  Dr.  Summers  to  come.  Mr.  Daniel  Moudy 
went  after  Dr.  Summers.  Mr.  Moudy  will  never  forget  that  trip,  he  almost  sac- 
rificed his  life  for  us  in  that  great  affliction.  Dr.  Summers  came  and  stayed  three 
day  and  nights,  and  Dr.  Farrar  was  liere  most  of  the  time.  He  came  through 
the  bitter  cold  weather  and  the  snow  drifts  which  lasted  several  weeks,  the  like 
of  which  I  have  never  seen  in  this  country  before  or  since.  IMr.  Patton  was  not 
expected  to  live,  and  Billy  was  very  sick  all  this  time. 

Eight  days  after  Mr.  Patton  took  sick,  Samuel,  the  second  son,  took  as  the 
rest;  the  red,  brick-colored  spittle,  and  pain  in  the  left  side  like  all  the  others. 
The  doctor  was  here  at  the  time  he  took  down,  but  could  not  check  the  disease, 
and  he  was  very  bad  sick.  Three  beds  in  two  rooms,  and  most  of  the  time  three 
men  to  care  for  the  sick  and  sometimes  more,  day  and  night.  There  were  no 
trained  nurses  at  that  time,  but  I  got  to  be  a  pretty  good  one  before  all  got  well, 
especially  in  taking  care  of  fly  blisters.  Three  men  sick  at  one  time.  It  did 
not  take  me  long  sometimes  to  shed  tears  with  all  the  care  and  trouble  I  had  and 
hard  work,  and  to  think  of  things  out  of  doors  and  in  the  house. 

Joseph  Harris  came  and  left  his  home  and  stayed  twenty-six  days,  and  fed 
the  cattle  and  took  care  of  the  other  stock,  and  in  the  deep  snow  and  very  cold 
weather.  Money  does  not  pay  for  such  work  at  such  times,  and  the  men  in  the 
neighborhood  would  come  and  stay,  sometimes  two  or  three  days  and  then  go 


146  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

home  and  sleep  and  rest,  and  then  eume  back  ag'ain.  What  woukl  we  have  done 
if  the  neighbors  hadn't  been  so  good?  I  never  got  tired  of  doing  something  for 
the  sick  after  that,  as  long  as  I  was  able,  if  I  could  do  it,  no  matter  who  they  were. 

After  all  I  have  told  about  this  siege  of  sickness  in  our  own  family,  Charles 
McGlaughlin,  an  old  Irishman  that  had  no  home  only  our  house,  took  down  with 
the  same  disease  one  week  after  Sammy  took  sick :  three  downstairs  and  one  up- 
stairs ;  four  beds  occupied  with  the  sick ;  one  or  the  other  of  the  doctors  was  there 
almost  all  the  time. 

Franklin  Rice  went  to  Indiana  after  William  Patton,  and  to  tell  the  folks 
over  there  about  the  family  all  being  sick,  and  William  Patton  came  and  stayed 

fifteen  days,  and  his  sister  came  soon  after  and  stayed  several  days.      All  these 

trips  then  were  worse  than  a  trip  to  Denver  would  be  now,  but  all  our  family  got 

well  after  three  months  from  the  first  to  the  close  of  the  sickness.       There  Avas 

only  one  death  in  the  neighborhod,  and  that  was  a  young  man  named  Shaver. 

If  we  never  got  sick  we  would  not  be  thankful  for  good  health.  I  thought 
sometimes  that  I  was  nearer  worn  out  than  the  sick  M'ere ;  I  would  go  out  in  the 
kitchen  sometimes  after  something  and  forget  what  I  went  after,  but  never  gave 
up  but  once  and  that  was  the  afternoon  that  Samuel  came  in  and  I  had  to  fix 
another  bed  for  him.  I  sat  down  on  the  floor  and  cried,  aiul  thought  I  could 
not  do  anything  more,  but  I  thought  this  will  not  do,  and  I  had  to  do  all  I  could 
do,  and  was  thankful  I  had  so  much  help.  This  is  enough  for  one  year,  but 
not  half  I  could  tell  about  it. 

1865  was  a  year  of  no  special  incident  in  the  family,  only  the  common  work 
on  the  farm  and  in  the  house.  There  was  always  plenty  to  do  that  year.  Billy 
came  home  from  Jacksonville  the  15th  of  April,  the  day  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
assassinated,  and  when  lie  came  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  went  to  meet 
him,  and  the  first  word  that  lie  said  was  to  ask  if  I  knew  that  the  President  was 
killed.  I  had  not  heard  it  until  then.  A  IMr.  Ballard  had  just  moved  in  the 
house  we  first  lived  in,  and  I  went  there  the  next  day,  and  when  I  told  bim  he  just 
walked  the  floor,  he  was  so  excited  that  he  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing 
hardly.  The  whole  country  was  stirred  up  and  in  mourning  for  tlie  l)eh)ved 
President's  death.       His  name  will  live  through  ages  to  come. 

February  27,  li)02.  After  almost  one  year  of  the  time  has  passinl  I  will 
try  to  finish  the  sketches  T  connnenced  some  time  ago,  and  will  Icll  something  of 
what  happened  in  the  year  that  has  just  closed,  the  year  li)()l.  In  this  year  I 
have  passed  through  the  greatest  affliction  of  my  lift'  of  bodily  suffering  that  it 
was  possible  for  me  to  i)ass  through,  and  still  live  to  tell  about  it,  but  I  will 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  147 

never  tell  it  all  for  it  woukl  be  iiiipt)ssible  to  tell  it  so  any  one  would  know  how 
much  I  suffered. 

May  8,  1901,  I  ran  a  small  oak  splinter  in  my  forefinger  on  my  left  hand, 
and  blood  poisoning  started  from  the  effects  of  the  splinter.  The  next  day,  the 
9th  of  ^lay.  we  called  Dr.  Wylie.  of  Paxton.  and  Dr.  Hester,  of  Clarence,  and 
they  split  my  finger.  The  next  day  they  came  and  split  my  finger  and  the  third 
time  had  eight  or  nine  places  opened  on  my  hand.  I  did  not  know  much  hy  this 
time,  and  when  the  doctor  would  dress  my  hand  it  was  all  I  could  d(^  to  stand  it. 
The  doctor  came  twice  a  day  for  a  while,  and  then  went  to  Chicago  for  a  trained 
nurse,  and  she  stayed  ten  days.  I  had  to  have  medicated  water  poured  in  every 
two  hours,  and  take  whiskey  and  strychnine  every  four  hours  The  perspiration 
from  the  poison  was  very  offensive,  and  I  had  to  have  alcohol  baths  twice  a  day 
and  a  chill  one  every  twenty-four  hours,  and  suffered  intensely  then.  I  would 
sometimes  look  at  my  hand  and  wonder  if  it  would  ever  get  better. 

Oh,  how  glad  I  would  be  when  the  doctor  would  get  through  dressing  it !  But 
everything  has  an  ending,  and  so  did  my  trouble  wnth  blood  poisoning,  after  being 
under  Dr.  Hester's  care  from  May  9th  until  July  17th,  making  fifty-nine  visits. 
I  thank  him  for  his  kindness  to  me  all  this  time.  May  (lod's  blessing  be  with 
him  through  life,  and  may  he  live  a  righteous  life,  and  be  a  blessing  to  the 
people  wherever  he  may  be. 

"I  am  exulting  while  I  may. 
For  joy  is  uppermost  today. ' ' 
1866.       This  year  there  was  lots  of  work  to  do.       Some  of  the  children    at 
school  and  some  at  work  at  home.      I  will  here  write  a  subscription,  or  copy  of  it, 
which  was  written  March  13,  1866,  for  John  Kepling>>r,  who  lost  his  limb  just  at 
the  close  of  the  war.      They  were  our  neighbors  then. 

Sugar  Grove,  Champaign  County,  111. 
We,  the  undersigned,  agree  to  pay  John  Keplinger,  wdm  has  lost  a  leg  in 
defense  (^f  our  country,  the  sum  annexed  to  our    names,    for    the    purpose    of 
assisting  him  to  get  an  artificial  leg. 

L.  H.  Unstad $2.00 

Charles  McLaughhan 2.00 

Anton  Gitcen 2.00 

R.  F.  Kerr   1-00 

David  Patton 5.00 

J.  H.  Flagge  100 

Harmon  Strayer   1-00 


H8  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY. 

Arthur  F.  Flagge 50 

Wm.  Montgomery' 1.00 

James  Mercer   50 

Stephen  Lamb  1.00 

Joshua  Lucas 1 .00 

John  Warren 1.00 

A.  B.  Lucas   1.00 

W.  H.  H.  Elliott 1.00 

S.  P.  Mitchell   1.00 

George  P.  Gitson 1 .00 

John  H.  Gitson  1.00 

Aaron  Albier 1.00 

A.  M.  Elliot 50 

Elam  Wait .50 

Thomas  Elliot   1.00 

Milton   Strayer    2.00 

Joseph  Harris   1.00 

G.  O.  Marlatt 1.00 

James  B.  Lucas 1 .00 

John  Keplinger  lives  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and  T  suppose  gets  a  good 
pension  at  this  time,  March  4,  1902. 

In  the  winter  of  1866  we  had  a  revival  in  the  church.  Here,  I  see  hy  a 
letter  that  I  wrote  then,  that  Billy  joined  the  church  at  Jacksonville  that  winter, 
and  some  names  here  at  home  that  united  with  the  church — IMrs.  Hiram  Daniels, 
George  Tanner,  and  some  of  the  Sedletter  boys.  The  Rev.  Bannan  was  the 
pastor  at  that  time,  and  stayed  with  us  while  the  meeting  lasted;  and  ]\Irs. 
Search  had  so  much  influence  in  the  church  that  winter.  The  Search  faniil.\' 
moved  to  Southern  Illinois  that  spring,  and  we  were  sorry  to  see  them  leave  the 
neihgborhood,  for  INIr.  Search  was  the  life  of  the  Sabbath  school  in  the  Flagge 
schoolhouse  at  that  time. 

1867  came  with  its  sorrows  and  ,ioys,  as  most  years  do.  On  Fel)ruarv  20, 
1867,  there  came  to  onr  house  a  new  baby  girl,  and  she  got  to  be  the  pet  of  the 
family,  and  ruled  things  as  slic  pleased  in  her  babyhood  and  girlhood  also. 
That  winter  I  had  lung  fever,  and  came  near  leaving  tin's  world  ;  was  sick  a])out 
four  weeks.  We  named  the  baby  Allie,  and  now  there  had  been  eight  children 
added  to  the  family  in  a  little  over  twenty-one  years,  and  how  many  wants  are 
to  be  supiilied  with  eight  children  to  care  for.  When  Henry  C.  Dodge  wrote 
"Nobody  knows  but  mother,"  I  think  he  was  right. 


mm 


OLD  SCHOOL  HOUSE 


HISTORY  OF  F0R13  COUNTY  151 


( i  • 


Nobody  knows  of  the  work  it  makes 
To  keep  the  home  together, 
Nobody  knows  of  the  steps  it  takes, 
Nobody  knows  but  mother. ' ' 
]\rary  Frayne  was  here,  and  had  been  for  over  one  year,  and  stayed  until  the 
next  May  or  June.      She  was  a  kind,  good  girl. 

Billy  taught  school  at  the  Flagge  school  house  that  winter,  and  Sammy  and 
La  Fayette  went  to  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  to  school.  Sammy  to  the  Illinois  College, 
and  La  Fayette  to  the  deaf-mute  institution. 

Times  have  changed  since  then.  I  see  by  a  statement  today  with  a  Paxton 
hardware  and  implement  store,  that  Mr.  Patton  settled  February  7,  1867,  with 
the  hardware  man  at  Paxton.  He  had  bought  two  Schuttler  wagons,  and  they 
cost  $242.50,  and  one  barrel  of  fiour  $14.50  and  one  $13.50,  and  there  were  no 
trusts  then.  And  sold  eleven  hundred  bushels  of  rye  at  85  cents  per  bushel. 
This  is  all  about  1867  that  I  want  to  tell. 

1868  was  a  new  year  with  many  things  connected  with  it.  Who  is  it  that 
enters  a  new  year  without  making  resolves  to  live  a  better  life,  and  we  should 
thank  the  Lord  for  all  the  blessings  we  receive  at  his  hand.  We  should  praise 
God  for  a  home  and  the  blessings  of  a  home. 

But  what  changes  since  then !  I  take  from  a  store  bill  at  that  time,  dated 
1868,  George  Wright's  store,  a  few  items. 

One  one-half  pounds  Young  Ilyson  Tea $1.20 

One  one-half  lb.  Young  Hyson  Tea 1.20 

10  sheets  paper 10 

1  lead  pencil 10 

I  broom 40 

12  pounds  sugar 2.00 

9  yards  bed  ticking 4.05 

4  spools  thread 40 

I  forgot  to  tell  about  the  building  of  the  first  church  that  was  built  in  the 
country  around  here.  It  was  built  in  1868.  It  was  a  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  still  stands  a  monument  to  many  that  have  gone  to  their  long  homes, 
and  there  has  never  been  a  time  when  there  has  not  been  preaching  services  in  it. 
It  was  dedicated  in  November,  1868,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  N.  Davies.  It  is  known 
as  Pleasant  Grove  Church. 

I  have  before  me  a  note  that  ]\Ir.  Patton  paid  September  2,  1871,  that  had 
been  given  to  make  up  a  deficiency  on  account  of  some  of  the  subscribers  failing 


152  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUXTY 

to  pay  their  8ii])serii)ti()n — I  think  over  three  liuiuli-ed  doUars  in  all;  Init  ^Ir. 
Patton  was  very  proud  of  our  ehureh  and  paid  it  willinyly. 

1870.  This  year  was  without  special  events  to  our  family.  Christmas  of 
that  year  I  went  to  Chicago  with  Edd  Kingon,  a  deaf-mute  that  stayed  with  us 
that  year,  and  when  he  w(Mit  home  to  spent  the  holidays.  T  went  witli  him.  and 
stayed  four  days.  I  had  a  nice  time,  and  was  very  much  interested  in  what  I 
saw  in  Chicago,  but  it  was  not  much  like  it  is  now.  I  was  at  an  entertainment 
at  the  Wabash  Avenue  M.  E.  church,  and  to  the  First  M.  E.  church,  and  to  the 
First  Presbyterian  church,  and  to  the  Museum,  and  everything  was  different 
from  what  I  had  ever  seen.  I  thought  it  wonderful,  and  IMr.  Kingon  and  family 
entertained  me  royally,  and  showed  me  around  the  city.  I  came  home,  but  Edd 
spent  some  time  before  he  came  back. 

September  3d  of  this  year  I  got  the  first  sewing  machine  that  I  ever  had, 
only  a  little  hand  sewing  machine  to  fasten  to  a  table;  but  the  Grover  and  Baker 
machine  cost  seventy-five  dollars,  a  note  on  a  year's  time.  "P.  S.  Point 
Pleasant,  Robert  Bradley,  Agent,"  so  says  the  old  note  before  me. 

1871.  The  years  come  and  go,  whether  we  are  ready  or  not.  Our  home 
affairs  were  just  the  same  as  usual  throughout  this  year,  as  far  as  I  can  remember. 
The  last  days  of  September,  Mr.  Patton  and  I  went  to  Indiana,  and  came  home 
the  first  week  in  October,  I  think  the  dryest  time  I  ever  saw,  and  the  great  fire 
at  Chicago  the  9th  of  Octolx^r  made  us  all  feel  sad;  and  the  forest  fires  filled  the 
air  so  full  of  smoke  that  you  could  not  see  very  far.  We  had  no  deep  well  then. 
and  had  to  haul  water  for  a  mile,  and  the  stock  had  to  be  taken  to  the  creek  for 
water.  It  took  the  cattle  herder  half  of  the  time  to  get  the  cattle  to  the  wati'i- 
and  back. 

1874.  The  new  year  had  dawned  upon  us  in  (juiet  beauty,  and  the  sunshine 
of  God's  love  is  over  us.  The  dear  old  year  was  kind  to  us.  Each  day  brought 
some  new  blessing  to  us,  whether  we  were  thankful  for  the  blessing  or  not.  The 
new  year  brought  to  us  a  deep  well,  witli  fine  water  after  three  months  of  hard 
work  and  many  discouragements,  Mr.  Ketchum  and  ]\Ir.  William  Le  Fever  sank 
a  well,  or  made  a  trial  for  a  well,  and  did  not  succeed,  and  then  moved  to  another 
place,  where  our  well  is  at  the  present  time;  and  oh.  the  joy  that  came  to  us  wlien 
tlie  well  was  completed  tluit  .June,  and  tlie  windmill  of  the  Haliday  make  was  ])nt 
up  and  ready  for  work,  and  the  well-house  finished  and  a  tank  for  the  milk  put  in. 
There  was  not  any  place  that  I  enjoyed  at  our  house  so  nnich  as  the  well-house, 
and  why  should  I  not,  after  twenty  years  of  getting  water  sometimes  one  place 
aiul  sometimes  another.  One  shallow  well  would  go  dry  aiul  we  would  go  to  an- 
other, and  then  when  it  rained  they  woidd  ail  have  watei-  in  and  would  overflow, 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  153 

and  tlu'  water  would  not  be  tit  to  use,  not  even  to  wasli  dishes  in.  Sometimes  I 
could  not  get  supper  until  the  men  would  eome  home  from  the  field  and  haul 
Avater.  This  was  Illinois  before  deep  wells  were  made.  2  Peter  ii ;  17;  Wells 
witliout  water.  Rev.  xxi :  6:  I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the 
fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely.  All  the  years  since  that  time  the  well  has 
never  gone  dry,  for  the  supply  has  never  run  out. 

1875.  Again  a  new  year  has  eome  to  us.  The  old  year  was  kind,  and  waited 
and  watched  to  supply  all  our  needs.  Tliis  year  in  many  tilings  was  the  same  to 
us  as  other  years. 

W.  T.  Patton,  or  Billy  as  we  called  him  when  we  wanted  him  to  get  up  to 
breakfast,  thought  the  l)est  thing  he  could  do  would  be  to  get  married.  So 
November  25,  1875,  he  was  married  to  Fanny  M.  Flagge.  Our  family  had  been 
going  up  the  mountain,  and  stopped  on  the  top  when  Allie  was  born  in  1867,  and 
stayed  there  for  seven  years,  and  then  commenced  to  go  down  on  the  other  side, 
one  by  one,  until  all  are  gone,  and  I  am  left  alone.  Billy  sat  at  our  table  longer 
than  he  has  at  his  own,  at  this  writing. 

The  realm  of  advanced  activity  in  the  years  since  that  time  is  everywhere 
manifested ;  the  resources  of  every  department  are  being  fully  taxed.  Daring 
adventures,  mechanical  inventions,  scientific  discoveries,  commercial  enterprises 
— all  these  give  signs  of  progress  and  unparalled  activity  in  the  years  since 
the  date  of  this  page. 

1876.  Almost  always  the  new  year  nuikes  us  think  of  past  years,  and  what 
may  happen  in  the  year  we  make  our  figures  for  now. 

This  year  was  centennial  year,  and  many  memories  of  that  time  cling  to 
1776  and  to  the  year  1876,  for  the  celebration  of  the  year  at  Philadelphia  that 
year  w^as  a  grand  celebration  of  the  one  hundred  years  befor(\ 

There  was  no  special  occurrence  in  our  family  that  year  that  I  remember 
of  until  October.  Mr.  Patton  went  to  visit  his  old  home  in  5\)untain  county, 
Indiana,  where  he  ahvays  loved  to  go  so  well,  and  his  oldest  sister  came  home 
wath  him  to  visit  us  a  week  and  then  return  home.  Mr.  Patton  was  going  to 
take  her  home,  but  on  Friday  evening  she  took  a  chill.  She  was  very  sick  from 
the  first,  and  died  the  next  Wednesday,  the  20th  of  October,  1876.  The  body 
was  taken  back  home.  It  was  so  sad  for-  us  to  think  how  well  she  was  when 
she  came  to  us,  and  how  soon  she  was  taken  from  us.  When  we  went  over  to 
her  home,  my  brother  and  his  wife  had  gone  to  Philadelphia  to  the  Centennial. 
This  is  all  I  will  say  about  this  year.  So  many  sad  things  come  to  us  in  our 
lives. 


154  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

1877.  The  new  .years  eonie  to  us  with  many  memories  of  the  past,  and  of 
our  duty  before  us  for  the  future  for  each  other,  and  to  live  for  the  good  of 
others,  and  that  the  world  might  be  benefited  by  us  being  in  it  if  we  live 
right. 

The  lltli  of  February  the  first  granddaughter  was  born  to  us.  W.  T. 
Patton  and  Fanny  JM.  Patton.  A  bright  little  babe,  and  how  much  we  were 
all  interested  in  its  welfare;  l)ut  alas,  how  soon  it  was  taken  from  us!  It 
was  named  Eva. 

Some  time  before  this  I  had  been  called  to  superintend  the  arrangements 
where  there  was  a  new  baby,  and  looked  after  the  welfare  of  the  mother  and 
child,  and  I  can  say  I  went  wherever  I  was  called,  day  or  night,  rain  or  shine, 
and  I  always  asked  God  to  guide  me  aright  in  whatever  I  did,  and  success 
attended  all  my  work  of  this  kind,  and  there  was  never  a  death  of  mother  or 
child  in  the  more  than  twenty  years  of  my  practice  of  that  kind  of  work  within 
a  circle  of  three  or  four  miles,  and  sometimes  five  or  six  miles.  I  was  called 
to  visit  the  sick  and  care  for  the  dying.  There  were  no  trained  nurses  at 
that  time,  and  the  undertaker  was  not  sent  for  as  they  are  now.  I  always 
knew  that  there  was  no  one  sick  or  I  would  know  of  it,  for  I  was  often  sent 
for  before  the  doctor,  and  if  I  said  a  doctor  was  needed,  that  was  sufficient,  he 
was  sent  for.  I  would  often  stay  with  the  sick  and  the  dying  two  or  three 
days.  IMy  motto  was  that  if  I  could  be  more  l)en(^fit  away  from  home  than 
at  home  there  was  the  i)lace  I  wanted  to  be.  I  never  lived  for  myself  alone. 
I  always  took  an  interest  in  other  people's  welfare.  I  rejoice  that  I  was  per- 
mitted to  live  at  the  time  I  did,  and  in  the  evening  time  of  life  I  would  do 
as  much  as  ever  if  strength  would  permit  me  to  do  it;  but  now  I  will  do  as 
much  as  I  can  with  my  pen  by  writing  letters  and  cheering  w^ords  to  all.  Pov- 
erty and  riches  have  little  to  do  with  our  happiness  in  this  life. 

1879.  This  year  is  not  to  l)e  forgotten  by  some  of  our  family.  This  year, 
the  10th  of  April,  the  oldest  daughter  of  the  family  left  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood, the  family  circle,  the  loving  mother,  the  kind  and  indulgent  father,  and 
the  affectionate  brothers  and  sisters,  for  the  affections  of  another,  and  changed 
her  name  from  Martha  I.  Patton  to  Martha  I.  Flagg,  to  shar(>  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows of  a  husband,  James  W.  Flagg.  One  moi-e  had  left  the  parental  roof. 
The  family  are  going  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill  one  by  one. 

This  was  a  prosperous  year  on  the  farm.  The  lai-gest  and  best  crop  of 
wheat  that  year,  and  our-  cattle  were  fine  and  did  well.  We  got  a  good  price 
for  everything. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  155 

1880.  This  year  came  in  with  joy  and  gladness,  ])nt  how  soon  our  joy 
may  ]«'  turned  to  sorrow.  We  never  know  what  a  day  may  bring  to  us.  and 
we  will  be  called  to  endure  trials  that  we  think  we  cannot  bear  up  under.  This 
was  the  case  with  me  at  this  time. 

IMr.  Patton  left  home  February  the  20th  of  this  yeni-,  on  Friday  morning, 
and  went  to  his  old  home  over  on  Coal  Creek,  what  he  always  felt  was  his 
home  more  than  Illinois;  after  living  here  twenty-six  years;  Fountain  county 
was  dearer  to  him  than  the  home  we  had  here. 

That  night  he  took  a  chill,  pneumonia  developed,  and  there  was  no  remedy. 
The  doctors  were  powerless.  Dr.  Spinning  of  Covington,  and  Dr.  Pettit,  of 
Veedersburgh  were  both  called.  He  had  gone  to  the  farm  that  his  father  had 
given  him  to  stay  all  night.  A  Mr.  Isley  lived  there,  and  had  the  farm  rented. 
I  was  telegraphed  for,  and  went  to  Rankin  that  night  and  stayed,  and  left  the 
next  morning  at  four  o'clock.       I  got  there  at  noon,  and  found  him  very  sick. 

I  dispatched  for  Charley,  and  he  got  th(>re  Thursday,  and  Thursday  I  sent 
for  Samuel,  and  he  got  there  Friday,  and  all  the  rest  came  Saturday,  and 
Sunday  about  eleven  o'clock  the  suffering  was  all  over  with  him.  He  was 
conscious  to  the  last,  and  had  been  all  through  his  sickness  and  what  a  con- 
solation it  was  to  hear  him  tell  all  about  every  arrangement  that  he  wanted 
made,  and  about  the  place  he  wanted  his  remains  laid  to  rest.  He  wanted  the 
Rev.  IMushgrove  sent  for.  He  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Danville  at  that 
time,  and  he  came.  He  put  his  arms  around  Mr.  Mushgrove's  neck  and  talked 
to  him  so  much.  The  consolation  there  was  in  all  this.  His  life  was  ended 
February  29,  1880. 

This  year  there  were  two  grandsons  born  in  the  family.  A  son  to  W.  T. 
and  Fanny  Patton,  the  5th  of  July,  1880,  and  was  another  addition  to  the 
name  of  Patton,  and  he  was  named  David.  On  the  8th  of  August,  1880,  a 
son  was  born  to  J.  W.  Flagg  and  INIartha  I.  Flagg,  and  he  was  David  Ross 
Flagg.  He  ought  to  be  true  to  his  country  if  his  name  has  anything  to  do 
with  it. 

September  28,  1880,  La  Fayette  Patton  and  Ella  McHenry Were  married; 
another  one  less  to  sit  at  the  table,  and  one  more  towards  the  bottom  of  the 
hill  when  all  will  be  gone.  They  were  married  at  Sparta,  Illinois.  None  of 
our  family  at  the  wedding  only  Charley  Patton. 

This  year,  April  19,  1883,  there  was  a  boy  came  to  live  with  W.  T.  and 
Fanny  Patton,  and  they  named  him  Charley.  A  large  fat  baby,  and  he  is 
that  way  now,  only  he  is  not  a  baby.       In  September  of  this  year,  little  Fred- 


156  HISTORY   OF  FOKD   COUNTY 

die  died.  Ou  October  6th  of  this  veai-.  Alfred  R;i.v  Patton  was  born  to  La 
Fayette  and  Elhi  Patton.  and  now  he  is  six  feet  tall. 

1885.  February  of  this  year  saw  one  of  the  family  leave  the  home  of  her 
childhood  for  the  protection  of  another.  Ida  J.  Patton  and  Charles  Agiistus 
Lamb  were  married,  and  one  less  on  the  side  of  the  hill  and  one  less  in  the 
home.  Oh  how  sad  we  feel  sometimes,  when  one  ]).\'  one  they  leave  the  home ! 
But  such  is  life.       They  were  married  February   12.   1885. 

September  28.  1885,  another  son  Ijorn  to  J.  W.  Flagg  and  IMartha  I.  Flagg, 
and  they  named  him  Willie,  and  that  is  all  the  name  he  has  yet,  poor  boy ! 

Well,  things  went  along  as  usual,  but  all  these  years  I  always  attended 
churcli,  and  enjoyed  going  to  church  more  than  anything  else,  and  teaching  lit- 
tle boys  in  Sabbath  school.  The  weeks  were  not  so  long  when  I  got  to  go  to 
church  on  the  Sabbath  day. 

On  December  13,  1885,  there  was  born  to  Ida  J.  Lamb  and  C.  A.  Lamb  a 
sweet  little  Iamb  for  them  to  fecnl  and  care  for,  and  they  named  her  Nellie, 
and  that  is  her  name  yet,  and  she  is  larger  than  her  mother  now. 

The  3d  of  February,  1886,  I  went  to  Indiana  for  my  brother's  birthday. 
I  thought  he  had  lived  sixty  years  and  I  wanted  to  eat  dinner  with  him  that 
day.  I  went  without  any  announcement  of  my  coming,  and  surprised  him  a 
little  perhaps.  It  was  the  -Ith  of  February,  but  the  next  time  they  expected 
me  to  be  there,  and  the  event  is  celebrated  yet  at  that  home. 

This  year  on  August  11th,  a  little  girl  made  its  api)earance  at  W.  T.  and 
Fanny  Patton 's,  and  claimed  admittance  as  one  of  the  family,  and  they  adopted 
her  and  called  her  Carrie  Patton. 

October  18,  1888,  there  came  to  Billy  and  Fanny,  a  little  girl,  and  they 
called  her  Elsie.  She  is  not  very  large  yet,  but  the  baby  of  the  family  is 
almost  always  babied  too  nuich  for  their  own  good. 

This  April,  Grace  Kirkle\'  came  to  our  house  to  board  and  teach  school 
at  the  Sugar  Grove  schoolhovise,  and  afterward  changed  her  name  to   Patton. 

What  a  trial  to  give  up  the  last  girl  of  the  family!  All  say,  "Now  what 
will  you  do?"  "Who  will  you  live  with  now?"  "Will  you  move  to  town?" 
All  had  some  advice  to  give  as  to  what  wcmld  be  the  liest  thing  to  do.  Well, 
I  did  just  as  I  had  been  doing.  Stayed  in  the  old  home,  which  was  home  to 
me  still.  I  always  loved  my  home  better  than  I  did  any  place  else,  but  I  have 
to  depend  on  other  people's  children  to  help  me  make  it  a  home  for  myself, 
and  the  different  ones  that  have  stayed  with  me  in  these  years  have  all  been 
good  to  me,  and  I  have  had  a  good  home  with  the  different  ones.  I  have  tried 
to  make  a  home  for  them,   for  some  of  them  did  not  have  any  home  but  my 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  157 

hoiao,  l)iit  liow  well  have  I  succeeded?  T  do  not  know  what  tliey  say  about 
it,  but  I  hope  that  I  did  not  do  anything  wrong  about  the  way  I  treated  them. 
JMary  Allie  Patton  and  David  Henry  Cade  were  married  June  7,  189-1:,  and 
wont  to  Chicago  the  same  evening,  and  came  back  to  visit  his  folks  at  Peres- 
ville.  Indiana,  and  soon  after  went  to  housekeeping  in  Potomac,  Illinois. 


ILLINOIS  IN  1854.  AND  SOME  OP  THE  CHANGES  IN  THE  COUNTRY 

SINCE  THAT  TIME,  AND  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  IN  WHICH  I  HAVE 

LIVED   SINCE   THAT    TIME. 

It  was  not  a  l)arren  waste;  it  was  a  bleak  cold  place  in  the  winter  time. 
The  snow  went  the  way  the  wind  took  it  as  far  as  it  wanted  to  go,  and  the 
tumbleweeds  aLso ;  but  in  the  summer  time  it  was  all  grass  and  flowers,  and 
you  could  see  as  far  as  the  strength  of  >-our  eyes  would  let  you  see.  and  the 
tall  grass,  when  the  wind  blew,  was  like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  beautiful  to 
behold.  If  you  knew  where  you  wanted  to  go  you  had  nothing  to  do  but  to 
start  out  and  go,  but  look  out  for  the  ponds  of  water  or  you  would  be  right 
in  one  if  you  did  not,  for  the  grass  in  the  ponds  would  be  higher  than  your 
head,  and  it  would  be  lots  more  trouble  to  get  out  than  to  get  into  a  pond. 
They  were  just  like  getting  into  trouble  about  other  things,  it  was  easier  to 
get  in  than  to  get  out.  Now  you  have  the  hedge  fence  and  the  straight  roads 
and  the  square  corners  and  the  groves,  and  you  can't  see  a  wagon  five  miles 
on  the  prairie  as  you  could  then. 

When  we  came  to  this  count\'  it  was  Vermilion  county.  That  was  in 
November  2,  1854.  It  was  a  lonely  place  a  little  farther  out  on  the  prairie 
than  our  neighbors  were  at  that  time,  for  the  people  that  were  here  wanted 
to  live  close  to  the  timber.  The  wolves  would  howl  and  make  the  nights 
seem  lonely. 

Our  neighbors  at  that  time  were  ]\Ir.  Thomas  Lions.  He  lived  at  what  was 
called  Sugar  Grove,  and  which  still  has  that  name.  Their  house  was  just  west 
of  the  Patton  Cemetery,  in  the  corner  close  to  the  timber;  the  old  house  was 
there  until  about  five  years  ago.       ]\Ir.  Lions  died  in  Paxton. 

Mr.  Vannata  lived  on  what  is  called  the  Lamb  farm.  INIr.  Pliny  Lamb 
bought  the  farm  of  Vannata  in  1856,  and  died  there  in  1858.  Mr.  David 
Morehouse  lived  where  Joseph  Kerr  lives  now;  Mrs.  ]\Iorehouse  died  in  1858, 
and  Mr.  ^Morehouse  married  again  and  moved  away  from  the  country. 

Eastidge  Daniels  lived  on  the  land  that  La  Fayette  Patton  lives  on  at  this 
time ;  he  sold  the  land  to  David  Patton,  and  moved  close  to  Danville,  Illinois, 


158  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  died  there;  Elislia  Daniels  lived  on  the  farm  that  William  Moudy  owns 
at  this  time,  and  he  died  there  in  1858,  loved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

Mr.  John  Dopps  lived  between  where  the  two  churches  now  stand,  just 
where  the  house  is  that  JMr.  Daniel  JNIoudy  owns  at  this  time,  and  that  was 
the  place  where  we  went  to  church  at  that  time,  and  we  still  ^^o  there.  Uncle 
John  Dopps,  as  we  all  called  him,  could  sin^  and  shout  and  praise  God  every 
Sunday  in  tlie  year.  The  circuit  preacher  came  every  three  weeks  at  that 
time.  One  daughter  died  while  they  lived  there,  but  Mr.  Dopps  sold  out 
and  went  West,  and  how  we  missed  him.  Then  we  had  preachino-  in  the 
Flagg  schoolhouse  until  we  built  the  church  in  1868. 

A.  Mr.  Turner  lived  just  west  of  where  the  brick  church  is,  but  soon  left 
the  country.  Mr.  Matthew  Elliott  lived  close  to  where  Roy  Elliott,  a  grandson, 
lives,  and  he  lived  and  died  on  that  farm.  Ilis  life  was  always  for  the  right, 
and  he  was  never  absent  from  church  when  it  was  possible  for  him  to  be  there. 
One  son,  W.  H.  H.  Elliott,  still  lives,  and  the  old  home  is  still  dear  to  him; 
two  daughters  live  at  Catlin,  Illinois,  a  Mrs.  Boggus  and  a  Mm.  Wilson. 

Mr.  David  Robison  lived  where  I  now  live,  in  a  log  house.  William 
Robison  lived  south  and  a  little  east  of  our  house.  There  is  no  house  there 
now.  His  wife  died  there  the  next  June,  1855.  She  was  a  good  woman, 
and  left  one  little  boy;  she  came  to  our  house  the  first  Sunday  after  we  came 
to  this  Illinois  home,  and  helped  me  get  dinner.  There  were  five  men  helped 
us  move  here.  We  got  here  Thursday  evening,  and  all  stayed  over  Sunday. 
I  was  pleased  to  have  her  come  to  visit  us  so  soon,  but  she  was  soon  taken 
away  from  us.      William  Robison  got  married  again,  and  went  west. 

Mr.  Harmon  Strayer  and  his  brother  lived  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Mrs.  Grace  Culbertson,  but  Harmon  Strayer  sold  it  to  Mr.  John  Wilson,  and 
then  bought  land  northwest  of  here  and  improved  it.  His  father,  INIr.  Jacob 
Strayer,  lived  south  of  where  Harmon  Strayer  lived,  and  Milton  Strayer  lived 
half  a  mile  east  of  his  father.  There*  was  a  father  and  five  sons,  all  passed 
from  earth — all  good,  joeaceable  men. 

Hiram  Driskel  lived  south  of  Sugar  Grove.  He  died  several  years  ago, 
but  has  two  sons  living,  George  and  Ephraim.  Mr.  Jesse  Piles  lived  on  what 
is  known  as  the  old  Piles  farm.  He  came  to  what  is  now  Butler  township  in 
March,  185;?,  and  was  the  first  settler  in  what  is  now  Butler  township,  and 
lived  on  the  same  farm  until  his  death,  July  4,  1884. 

When  we  went  to  Indiana,  we  went  past  the  Piles  home,  and  that  was  the 
last  house  but  one  between  Sugar  Grove  and  Marysville,  now  Potomac.       There 


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HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  161 

was  one  house,  but  I  cannot  locate  the  place.  A  man  hy  the  name  of  ]\Ied- 
sker  lived  there.  You  could  not  stop  and  ask,  ''Is  this  the  right  road?"  or 
"How  far  is  it  to  Marysville ? "  at  that  time,  for  there  was  no  one  to  ask,  and 
tlie  road  paid  no  attention  to  section  lines  then. 

Everything  for  our  house  and  stable  Avas  hauled  along  that  road.  Mr. 
Patton  started  at  three  o'clock  one  morning  to  go  to  Marysville  to  get  nails 
to  l)uild  our  stable.  Our  flour  and  everything  we  used  was  hauled  from  Cov- 
ington, Indiana,  or  some  place  along  the  road,  and  the  countr^y  mills. 

There  was  not  a  railroad  in  Danville  at  that  time,  but  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral was  running  trains.  They  had  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1854,  and  the 
company  that  built  the  road  got  every  other  section  of  land  on  either  side 
of  the  road  for  ten  miles,  and  some  places  farther,  but  there  was  only  one 
house  at  Paxton  at  that  time,  and  the  company  has  never  been  willing  or  able, 
after  fifty  years,  to  l)uild  a  decent  depot  to  accommodate  the  traveling  public. 

In  a  year  or  two  great  changes  took  place  in  this  country;  the  land  was 
all  taken  up,  and  that  that  had  been  bought  for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  acre  and  up  w^as  sold  for  five  or  six  dollars  per  acre,  and  has  increased 
in  value  ever  since,  and  the  improvements  have  kept  pace  with  the  value  of 
the  land. 

Then  we  put  bells  on  our  horses  and  cows,  so  we  could  tell  where  they 
were  on  foggy  mornings,  but  now  the  bells  are  in  the  churches  and  on  the 
railroads. 


DIX  TOWNSHIP. 

All  that  part  of  Ford  county  lying  in  range  7  and  8  east  was  originally 
called  Drumm.er  Grove.  In  1861  steps  were  taken  by  the  citizens  to  have  the 
name  changed  to  Dix,  in  honor  of  General  Dix,  of  New  York.  The  petition 
was  granted  by  the  board  of  supervisors.  Afterward  the  following  townships 
were  created  or  set  off  from  Dix,  viz :  Drummer,  Sullivant  and  Peach  Orch- 
ard, leaving  the  jjresent  township  of  Dix. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  this  township  were  John  Waggoner,  John  D. 
Bell,  David  Metcalf,  Ephriam  and  James  A.  Blackford,  Samuel  Todd,  George 
Waggoner,  Asa  Trickel,  John  Wallace,  Jackson  Pitser,  R.  Stephen  Chamberlin, 
Joseph  Kendall,  John  Brown,  James  Reed,  Levi  Foutz,  Leonard  Pierpont, 
David  Pollock,  John  Schoonmacher,  Jonathan  Bedell,  Charles  Wilcox  and  Peter 
Beatty. 


]62  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  first  postoffit-i'  in  Dix  towiisliip  was  East  Bend,  with  Joliii  S.  AVayyoner 
first  postmaster;  his  coiiiiiiissiou  was  dated  November  26,  1859. 

The  first  person  who  died  in  Dix  township  was  Asa  Triekel,  who  was  l)nr- 
ied  at  the  Wallace  graveyard  near  Elliott. 

Tlie  first  sehoolhonse  built  in  this  township  was  in  district  No.  2,  built  in 
the  spring-  of  1859.  IMiss  Cynthia  Newlin,  daughter  of  William  Newlin,  of 
Patton  township,  taught  the  first  school  in  this  district  and  in  the  township. 

The  first  religious  service  held  in  Dix  township  was  at  the  house  of  John 
S.  Waggoner,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Wenner,  who  was  a  United  Brethren  minister. 


ELLIOTT. 

The  land  where  Elliott  stands  was  donated  by  S.  P.  Bushnell,  Samuel 
Elliott  and  Gustave  Punke.  It  was  the  undivided  half  of  forty  acres.  Mr. 
Elliott  contributed  twenty  acres,  ]\Ir.  Bushnell  ten  acres  and  Mr.  Punke  ten 
acres.  It  was  surveyed  and  laid  out  by  County  Surveyor  II.  J.  Howe.  John 
Richardson  built  the  first  elevator  in  Elliott.  J.  J.  Crawford  was  the  first 
postmaster,  and  Hugh  Lambert  was  the  first  station  agent.  The  village  was 
named  after  Samuel  Elliott.  The  village  is  surrounded  by  a  fine  farming 
country  and  is  a  good  trading  point. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  Oregon  schoolhoiLse,  on  the  4th  day 
of  April,  1865.  The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  A.  ]\I.  Smith,  the  town 
clerk.  J.  S.  Brown  was  appointed  moderator.  At  this  meeting,  the  following 
township  officers  were  elected:  supervisor,  Ephriam  IM.  Blackford;  town  clerk, 
A.  M.  Smith;  assessor,  William  B.  Holmes;  collector  of  taxes,  Benjamin  Smith; 
justices  of  the  peace,  Leonard  Pierpont  and  Johii  S.  Waggoner;  highway  com- 
missioners, John  Bell,  Joseph  Kendall  and  David  Pollock. 

The  following  sketches  are  of  some  of  the  early  settlers  and  prominent' 
citizens  who  lived  in  Dix  township: 

John  S.  Waggoner,  one  of  the  old  settlers  and  bnsiness  men  of  Dix  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Lewis  comity,  Virginia,  June  28,  1822,  where  he  lived  several 
years;  then  moved  to  lioone  county,  Indiana.  Tie  made  his  home  there  for 
abont  twenty  years.  lie  came  to  Ford  county  in  the  fall  of  1855  and  settled 
on  section  :V.].  Mr.  Waggoner  was  the  fii-st  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  town- 
ship. He  held  Ihc  office  many  years  and  was  also  ])()stmaster  at  East  Bend 
several  years. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  163 

John  D.  Bell  was  born  in  England,  November  22,  1819,  where  he 
remained  until  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age.'  He  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  M^here  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  print 
works  for  five  years.  lie  came  to  this  township  in  1857.  In  1863,  he  enlisted 
in  the  Chicago  Mercantile  Battery  and  served  with  it  for  three  years.  Mr.  Bell 
was  the  first  town  clerk  of  this  township  and  also  held  the  office  of  assessor 
and  collector.       He  was  the  first  trustee  of  the  schools. 

David  Metcalf,  a  native  of  England,  county  of  Westmoreland.  Here  he 
was  born  November  26,  1823,  and  lived  at  his  home,  working  at  the  cooper's 
trade,  for  twenty-eight  years.  Emigrating  to  America,  he  settled  in  Ford 
county.       In  I\Iay,  1851,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Bell. 

John  Richardson,  a  native  of  Liverpool,  England,  emigrated  to  America 
in  1849  and  landed  in  Canada.  He  moved  to  Bufi'alo,  New  York,  learned 
the  mason's  trade,  and  worked  at  it  in  Detroit,  Michigan.  In  1856  he  moved 
to  Iowa  and  prospected  around  until  his  funds  were  nearly  exhausted.  He 
came  to  Paxton  and  worked  at  his  trade  several  years.  He  then  rented  a 
farm,  and  in  time,  by  his  frugality  and  industry,  he  was  able  to  purchase 
eighty  acres  of  land.  To  this  he  added  year  by  year  until  he  had  accumulated 
five  hundred  acres.  This  farm  he  exchanged  with  Judge  Patton,  of  this 
county,  for  one  thousand  acres  lying  in  Patton  and  Dix  townships.  In  1873, 
he  came  to  Elliott  and  engaged  in  the  grain  business.  In  1855  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  Simons,  of  Michigan.      They  had  seven  children. 

Cyrus  R.  Marshall  was  born  in  Windsor  county,  Vermont,  in  1837,  where 
he  lived  until  1850,  working  on  a  farm.  He  then  moved  to  Woodford  county, 
Illinois.  In  1878  he  came  to  Dix  township  and  bought  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  section  3.  In  October,  1857,  he  married  Elvira  Johnson,  of  Peoria 
county,  Illinois. 

Abel  Hanson  was  the  first  Norwegian  who  moved  into  Dix  township.  He 
came  here  in  1871  and  rented  a  farm  for  three  years.  He  then  purchased 
eighty  acres  in  section  14,  and  later  eighty  acres  in  section  22. 

Robert  Jardine  came  from  Logan  county,  Illinois.  He  was  born  in  Scot- 
land.      He  came  to  Dix  township  in  1867,  settling  on  a  farm  in  section  4. 

Andrew  Hamilton  was  born  in  Fairview  township,  York  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, November  6,  1836.  He  lived  there,  working  on  a  farm  and  at  the 
carpenter's  trade,  over  twenty-eight  years.  He  came  to  Illinois,  first  settling 
in  Livingston  county,  where  he  remained  nine  years,  then  moved  to  Dix  town- 
ship. He  was  married,  September  14,  1862,  to  Mrs.  Martha  E.  Carothers. 
They  had  three  children. 


164  inSTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

A.  A.  Barrow  wji.s  born  in  Vir<;inia,  July  8,  1848.  where  he  remained  until 
1867,  when  he  removed  to  Bloomington,  Illinois,  with  his  father,  who  came  to 
Ford  county  and  bought  several  luuidred  acres  of  land.  ]\Ir.  Barrow  was 
married,  December  25,  1872,  to  ]\Iiss  ]\Iartha  E.  Barrow. 

George  Henry  Trailor  was  l)orn  in  Illinois,  Octol)er  20,  1836.  He  lived 
in  Bureau  county  for  thirty  years,  engaged  in  farming.  He  then  sold  out  and 
came  to  Livingston  county,  Avhere  he  Ijonght  a  farm  and  lived  for  six  years. 
In  1859  he  crossed  the  plains  and  went  into  the  gold  mines  of  the  far  west, 
meeting  Avith  good  success.  In  1861  he  married  IMiss  Eliza  J.  Swisher,  who 
died  in  three  years,  and  l)y  whom  he  had  twin  daughters.  His  second  wife 
Avas  ]\Iiss  IMary  Butts. 

Jesse  Tonn  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1834.  where  he  lived  seventeen  years. 
He  then  moved  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois.  Soon  after,  he  came  with  his 
father  to  Dix  township.  He  married  JMiss  Rosanna  Hagin,  March  18.  1858, 
in  Urbana,  Champaign  county,  Illinois.      They  had  eight  children. 

John  M.  Miner  came  to  Illinois  in  1858  and  settled  in  Homer  township. 
Champaign  county,  Illinois.  lie  moved  into  Ford  county  in  1863  and  was 
superintendent  of  the  great  Sullivant  farm  for  several  years.  He  was  town 
collector,  town  treasurer  and  school  director  for  many  years. 

Andrew  M.  Speedie,  son  of  ^Matthew  Speedie,  settled  on  the  east  half  of 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  17. 

Samuel  W.  Wade  was  the  owner  of  eighty  acres  in  section  4,  Dix 
township. 

C  W.  Preston  was  the  owner  of  east  half  of  the  northwest  (luarter  of 
section  8,  in  this  township. 

J.  C.  Thornton  was  l)orn  in  Vii-ginia,  in  1835.  He  was  married  to  IMiss 
Anna  ]M.  Johnson  in  1863.  He  moved  to  Ford  county  in  1864.  Here  he 
held  vai'ioiis  town  offices. 

IMattiiew^  Speedie  came  from  Scotland  in  1850  and  settled  first  in  Fall 
River,  Massachusetts,  where  he  pursued  his  trade  of  millwright  for  sixteen 
yeai-s.  lie  came  to  Dix  in  18()().  He  was  married  .Iun(\  1847.  to  Isal)ella 
Colston,  of  Scotland. 

Henry  Harrison  Atwood  was  man-icd.  February  28,  1862,  to  Miss  L.  INF. 
Daniels,  of  "Woodbury,  Vermont.  He  was  born  in  Lamoille  county,  Vermont, 
in  1836.  and  caine  west  in  1850.  locating  in  Ohio.  He  came  to  Dix  townshii) 
in  186()  and  hecaiue  the  ownei-  of  a  Tai'in  of  i'onr  hundred  and  eighty  acres, 
on  which  he  raised  fine  stock. 


HISTORY  OP  FORD   COUNTY  K;.-) 

Samup:l  Elliott  was  born  in  TIolnK^s  connty,  Ohio,  in  1837  nud  lived  there 
thirty-five  years,  then  came  to  Dix  townshij).  In  1860  lie  married  JMiss  Anna 
Crawford,  of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio.  ]\Ir.  Elliott  was  instrumental  in  laying- 
out  the  villaije  in  this  township  that  bears  his  name. 

John  W.  Edwards  was  born  in  Morganfield,  Kentucky,  in  1842.  In  1868 
he  moved  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  from  there  he  went  to  IMarshall  county ; 
and  came  to  Dix  township  in  1877.  lie  married  ]\Iiss  Chrissa  L.  Lonii',  of 
]\Iarshall  county,  in  1866. 

Aaron  C.  Bullington  was  born  in  Quincy,  Illinois,  in  18-4-4.  His  par- 
ents moved  to  Jefferson  .county,  Missouri,  soon  after  he  was  born,  living  there 
several  years.  They  came  to  Woodford  county,  Illinois.  In  1862  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  enlisted  in  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry  and  served  in 
the  Civil  war  for  three  years.  Mr.  Bullington  was  twice  married,  first  in 
1869  to  jNIiss  Mary  C.  Leonard,  ])y  whom  he  had  two  children.  His  second 
wife  was  Atlanta  V.  Blake,  of  this  township,  by  whom  he  had  three  children. 
Mr.  Bullington  settled  in  this  township  in  1876.  In  1882  he  was  elected 
supervisor. 

J.  E.  IIagin  came  to  Ford  county  in  an  early  day.  He  was  born  in  Cape 
May  county.  New  Jersey,  in  1836.  In  1859,  he  married  ]\Iiss  Barbara  E. 
Crothers.  She  died  several  years  afterward,  and  his  second  wife  was  IMiss 
Ellen  Myers. 

John  Hollen,  importer  and  breeder  of  fine  horses,  settled  on  section  3. 

C.  G.  Ryerson  was  born  in  Norway  in  1832,  emigrating  to  America  in  1857. 
He  settled  first  in  La  Salle  county,  then  came  to  Ford  county,  locating  on  sec- 
tion 28.       In  1861  he  married  Miss  Knutson,  a  native  of  Norway. 

Henry  Shields  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1835.  He  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  New  York  state  in  18-4-4.  He  came  to  Ford  county  a  few  years 
later.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Almira  Sharp  in  Januar^^  1865.  He  was 
again  married,  to  Anna  Eliza  Spencer  in  1875. 

Joseph  Richmond  was  the  leading  druggist  of  Elliott. 

A.  T.  Blake  was  born  in  Virginia,  March  28,  1824.  His  parents  moved 
to  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  twenty-two  years  old,  helping  his  father  in  cul- 
tivating hops.  In  1847  he  left  Ohio  aiul  moved  to  Wayne  county,  Illinois, 
where  he  lived  on  a  farm  for  seven  years ;  then  went  to  Logan  county  and 
farmed  for  sixteen  years;  then  settled  in  Ford  county.  He  was  postmaster  at 
East  Bend  for  eleven  years;  keeper  of  the  ])oor  house  for  six  years;  road  com- 
missioner for  nine  years;  and  held  various  other  trusts  in  Ihe  gift  of  the  peo- 
ple.      In  1847  he  married  Cyntha  Staffs. 


166  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

John  Keesey  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1814.  where  he  lived  for  seven 
years ;  then  emigrated  to  Ohio,  where  he  lived  about  thirty  years.  He  then 
came  to  Ford  count}',  first  settling  in  Patton  township,  where  he  lived  on  a 
farm  for  eighteen  years;  then  moved  to  Elliott  and  opened  a  meat  market. 
He  was  twice  married — first  in  Ohio  in  April,  1837,  to  Saloma  Crise.  They 
had  ten  children.  In  1880  Mr.  Keesey  was  married  to  ]\Irs.  Jane  Culbertson. 
John  Shilts,  a  native  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1853,  and  to  this  county  in  1868,  residing  on  section  24. 

PELLA  TOWNSHIP. 

The  territory  now  organized  into  Pella  township  originally  formed  a  part 
of  Stockton,  and  from  1861,  when  Brenton  was  organized,  vip  to  1870  it  formed 
a  part  of  that  township. 

This  to-wnship  was  the  youngest  of  the  sisterhood  of  townships  in  Ford 
county,  and  was  unfavorably  located  for  early  settlements,  on  account  of  its 
being  mostly  a  low,  level  prairie  and  exceedingly  wet,  except  in  the  driest  times 
of  the  year.  The  Vermilion  swamps  extend  across  the  northern  part  of  the 
township,  the  south  fork  of  the  north  Vermilion  river,  a  slow,  sluggish  stream, 
flows  across  the  center,  and  various  marshes  and  sloughs  are  scattered  over  the 
township,  and  much  of  the  land  was  long  regarded  as  irreclaimable.  But  of 
late  years  many  Irish  families  have  moved  in  and  bought  the  wet  lands,  and 
at  once  began  the  work  of  ditching  and  tile  draining,  and  such  other  changes 
were  made  as  to  warrant  the  belief  that  Pella  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  town- 
ships in  the  county. 

The  first  settler  in  this  township  was  Robert  Hall,  who  bought  land  in  sec- 
tions 16  and  28;  he  came  in  1857.  The  next  settler  was  Henrj^  Atwood,  who 
settled  on  the  southwest  (juarter  of  section  22.  Henry  ]\Iitchinson  came  the 
same  year  and  settled  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  22.  Lyne  Starling, 
a  cousin  of  IM.  L.  Sullivant.  of  Sullivant  township,  settled  on  section  35. 

The  first  man  to  locate  in  Pella  after  the  war,  was  John  Bales;  the  same 
year  James  IMcCarty  and  James  Taggart  came.  In  1868,  Edward  Doran. 
The  ]\IcTier  family,  Robert  Wells,  Andrew  Hickman,  Hugh  Rice,  Abraliam 
Fadden,  M.  C.  Kice,  Daniel  IMarble,  William  Andrews  and  Owen  Murtaugh, 
setth'd  ill  1his  township,  and  about  the  same  time  Charles  Yates,  James  Sheldon, 
llic  K'ccd  ])oys,  Charles,  Arby,  Thomas-  Butlei-  and  Va\.  Thcmias  Correll,  J.  S. 
Ruff,  Patrick  McNouglitou,  Andrew  Stuart,  William  Michael,  and  John  Ward. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  167 

Ljaie  Starling,  who  came  from  New  York,  built  the  house  in  section  35,  known 
as  the  old  Brenton  House.  This  house  was  built  of  the  best  material  and  in  a 
very  substantial  manner.  The  building  of  this  large  house  and  the  extensive 
preparations  for  farming  on  a  large  scale  by  Mr.  Starling  were  quite  an  encour- 
agement to  the  settlers.  The  Starling  property  was  all  of  sections  1  and  3, 
east  half  of  17,  and  northwest  quarter  of  5,  in  Brenton,  and  31,  33  and  35  in 
Pella. 

The  first  marriage  in  Pella  was  between  Henry  Atwood  and  j\Iiss  Mary 
Wylie.  They  were  married  by  W.  P.  Pearsons,  of  Onarga,  November  16,  1850. 

The  first  school  taught  in  Pella  was  at  the  house  of  Henry  Atwood  in 
1863,  his  wife  being  the  first  teacher.  The  first  schoolhouse  built  w^as  the  Reed 
schoolhouse,  in  district  No.  1,  Butler  Reed  being  the  first  teacher. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  Center  schoolhouse. 

Pella  used  to  be  an  immense  hay  field  during  the  war,  thousands  of  tons 
being  annually  cut,  pressed  and  shipped  to  market. 

There  is  no  village,  postoffice  or  church  in  this  township,  the  trading  point 
for  most  of  the  citizens  being  Piper  City,  which  lies  close  to  the  south  line  of 
the  township. 

Joseph  Mitciiinson,  one  of  the  leading  citizens,  was  born  in  England,  in 
June,  1838.  His  parents  were  farmers,  and  Joseph  worked  on  the  farm  for 
several  years,  then  left  there  and  came  to  America.  He  settled  in  this  town- 
ship in  1858,  on  section  22.  He  became  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  rich  farming  land.  In  1865  he  married  Elizabeth  Agnew,  of  England, 
by  whom  he  had  six  children. 

William  P.  Moore,  one  of  the  leading  farmers  and  stock-raisers  of  Pella, 
was  born  in  Perry  county,  Ohio,  in  1834.  He  left  there  in  1866,  and  settled 
in  Warren  county,  Illinois;  after  living  there  two  years,  he  moved  to  Pella 
township  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  section  32.  In  1862,  he  enlisted  in  the 
One  Hundred  and  Fourteenth  Ohio  Regiment,  and  served  in  the  Civil  war 
until  its  close.  He  was  married  to  Eliza  Hickman,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1857, 
by  whom  he  had  six  children.  Mr.  Moore  was  road  commissioner  for  many 
years. 

Charles  A.  Cook  was  born  in  London,  Ontario,  November  3,  1845.  He 
left  Canada  and  settled  in  La  Salle  county  in  1857,  and  came  to  Ford  county, 
Pella  township,  in  1870.  He  became  the  owner  of  a  rich  farm  in  section  30. 
]\Ir.  Cook  was  twice  married ;  first  to  Angeline  Dean,  in  1870 ;  she  died  in  1877. 
In  1879  he  married  INIiss  Carrie  ^lontelius;  she  died  in  1883. 


168  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

WALL  TOWNSHIP. 

Wall  townsliip  was  ors:anizod  out  of  the  original  township  of  Patton  in 
1867.  It  is  bounded  on  the  nortli  by  Lyman  township ;  on  the  east  by  Iroquois 
county;  south  by  Patton  township,  and  west  by  the  townships  of  Dix  and 
Peach  Orchard.  It  was  named  after  Abraham  Wall,  the  first  settler  wlio  came 
to  this  township  from  Marshall  county,  Illinois,  in  ISo-I.  Among  other  early 
settlers  were  Fred  Dienelt,  James  Simpson,  Christian  Snyder,  Samuel  Bell, 
William  Noel,  AVilliam  Kenward,  J.  Bonsel,  Paul  Cooley,  John  Travis,  Levi 
]\[iller,  Agrippa  Wells,  Seth  Lytle,  William  Liggett,  James  Barnes,  John  ]\Ior- 
ris,  John  Richardson,  John  Bayne,  and  Edgar  Sharp. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  Stringtown  schoolhouse  district  No. 
2,  when  the  following  were  elected  the  first  township  officers:  William  Lig- 
gitt,  supervisor;  Steven  Fry,  town  clerk;  John  INIorris,  assessor;  John  Richard- 
son and  John  i\Iorris,  justices  of  the  peace. 

The  first  schoolhouse  erected  in  Wall  was  the  Noel  schoolhouse,  and  Wil- 
liam Noel's  wife  was  the  first  teacher.  The  Stringtown  schoolhouse  was  tli3 
next  one  built,  and  Miss  Emma  Simons,  daughter  of  the  first  county  clerk, 
taught  the  school  for  two  years. 

James  Barnes ''son  Walter,  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  township. 

This  township  contains  only  a  small  per  cent  of  unimproved  land,  and  its 
inhabitants  are  well-to-do  farmers. 

Among  the  leading  farmers  who  lived  in  this  township,  may  be  noted  the 
following : 

John  F.  Kenney  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  ISof). 
He  came  to  this  township  from  Putnam  county  in  1872,  settling  on  section  14. 
He  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Phelps,  of  Putnam  county,  in  1860.  ]\Ir.  Kenney 
was  one  of  the  many  men  who  came  to  this  county  from  the  east  without  capi- 
tal, and  by  his  hard  work  he  became  the  owner  of  three  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land. 

William  Kenwakd,  a  native  of  Sussex  county,  England,  came  to  Illinois 
in  1851.  He  was  twice  married — first  to  Elizabetli  IMcConaty,  a  native  of  Lnki^ 
county,  Illinois,  who  died  in  1871.  In  1873  he  married  Rhoda  Snclling,  a 
native  of  Harrison  county,  Ohio.  Mr.  Kenward  came  here  poor,  but  liy  hard 
work,   economy   and   strict    integrity,   became   the   owner   of  two   hundred    and 

eighty-two  acres. 

Fred  Dienelt,  boni  in  Brunswick,  Germany-  in  1828.  In  1813  lie  went 
to  sea,  sailing  around  llic  world  before  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  and  there 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  169 

are  few  places  in  this  hemisphere  that  have  not  been  visited  by  him.  lie  came 
to  Ford  county  in  1858,  being  the  second  settler  in  this  township.  He  was 
twice  married — first  to  ^lary  Kaminsky,  of  Germany,  who  died  in  1872,  and 
the  following  year  he  married  IMattie  WelLs.  His  lil)rary  was  considered  the 
largest  and  most  valuable  of  any  person's — exeei)ting  professional  men — in  the 
county,  and  much  of  his  time  was  passed  in  reading  scientific  works  and  study- 
ing astronomy. 

Levi  Miller  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1881.  lie  moved 
to  Illinois  from  Ohio  in  1854,  and  to  Wall  township  from  La  Salle  county,  in 
1864.  In  1852,  he  married  INIaria  Werts,  of  Preble  county,  Ohio,  by  whom 
he  had  ten  children.       He  laid  out  the  road  districts  of  Wall  township. 

William  Kenney  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
came  to  this  township  in  1875.  He  was  married  in  1850  to  Mary  McVane,  by 
whom  he  had  six  children. 

Richard  Trigger  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  in  1832.  He  came 
to  America  in  1859,  settling  in  Peoria  county.  He  came  to  Ford  county  in 
1869,  purchasing  the  north  half  of  section  11.  He  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
A.  Stoves,  of  England,  in  1855.  They  had  nine  children.  ,  Mr.  Trigger  was 
highway  commissioner  for  a  number  of  years. 

Saunders  McCormick  was  born  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  in  1836.  He 
taught  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  comity  for  several  years.  He  spent 
two  years  in  the  gold  mines  of  the  western  territories,  and  also  was  bookkeeper 
for  a  cotton  merchant  of  Texas.  He  came  to  Ford  county  in  1868,  settling 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  9.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  many 
years. 

William  A.  Campbell  was  born  in  Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1843.  He  moved  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  where  he  resided  for  a  short 
time;  then  came  to  Ford  county,  settling  in  Trickel's  Grove,  Button  township. 
He  was  married  to  Elizabeth  C.  Irwin  in  1868,  by  whom  he  had  four  children. 
His  father,  0.  H.  Campbell,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Ford  county. 

Robert  M.  Karr  was  born  in  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  in  1834.  In  1869, 
he  came  to  Ford  county,  becoming  the  owner  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  in  section  34.  He  was  married  in  1858.  He  enlisted  in  the 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Hundred  Day  service,  and  served  one  year. 

Worth  IMcCormick  was  born  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois?  in  1853,  living 
there  until  nine  years  of  age,  then  came  to  Drummer  township,  where  he 
lived  until  he  moved  to  Wall  township.  In  1877,  he  married  Miss  Samantha 
English,  of  Picpia  county,  Ohio. 


170  ITTSTOKY   OF   FORD    COUNTY 

John  IIamlon  was  a  native  of  All)any,  New  York.  lie  came  to  Chicago 
in  18-43  and  was  bound  out  to  a  farmer  in  Kendall  county  for  eleven  years, 
lie  married  i\Iary  Baxter  in  1861.  lie  became  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  fine  farming  land.  He  was  road  commissioner  and  school 
director  for  several  years. 

Charles  Spellmeyer  was  born  in  Prussia,  in  1831.  He  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1853,  settling  in  Putnam  county.  He  moved  to  this  town- 
ship in  1875,  settling  on  section  16,  where  he  became  the  owner  of  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  of  land.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Louisa  Kott- 
kamp,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children. 

George  ]\Iincii  was  l)()rn  in  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  in  1847.  where  he 
lived  until  1881,  when  he  moved  to  this  township.  He  became  the  owner  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3,  and  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  section 
22,  Lyman  township.       He  was  married  in  1869. 

Charles  Phillips  was  b(n'n  in  Lancashire,  England,  in  1814.  He  came  to 
Philadelphia  when  ([uite  young,  where  he  remained  for  a  short  time,  then 
moved  to  the  state  of  Delaware.  In  1854  he  came  to  Putnam  county,  Illinois, 
where  he  lived  for  eighteen  years,  then  came  to  Ford  county.  He  was  married 
in  1843. 

Edgar  G.  Sharp  was  born  in  New  York  in  1833.  In  1855  he  went  to 
Wisconsin,  living  there  three  years,  then  came  to  Wall  township,  settling  on 
section  30.       He  was  married  in  1853  and  was  the  father  of  eight  children. 

James  H.  Snelling  was  a  native  of  Illinois.  He  came  to  Ford  county  in 
1877,  and  settled  on  section  11.  INIr.  Snelling  was  teacher  of  penmanship  for 
many  years,  he  being  the  finest  penman  in  this  part  of  the  state. 


LYMAN  TOWNSHIP. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  1)oai-d  of  supervisors  held  September  9,  1867,  a  peti- 
tion was  presented  them  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  new  township  erected  out 
of  that  part  of  the  township  of  Brenton,  described  as  town  25  noi-lh,  i-ange 
9  east  of  the  thinl  i)riii("ipal  meridian.  The  board  finding  that  the  commis- 
sioners had  complied  with  the  nHiuirements  of  the  law,  granted  the  petition. 
The  township  took  its  name,  or  was  named  after  its  first  resident  settler,  Sam- 
uel Lyman,  who  settled  in  tlic  northeast  corner  of"  the  townshij).  <m  section  2, 
in  the  year  1856.  The  townshi])  is  bounded  on  the  nortli  l)y  Brenton  town- 
shi]).  on  the  east  by  li-o(|uois  county,  south  by  Wall  township,  and  on  the  west 
by  Peach  Orchard  township  and  the  county  of  Livingston.       The  first    town 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  173 

meeting  was  held  iii  school  district  No.  2,  on  the  7th  day  of  April,  and  at  this 
meeting  the  following  township  officers  were  elected:  Samnel  Woodward, 
snpervisor;  A.  M.  Haling,  town  clerk;  Daniel  Woodward,  collector;  A.  V.  Bur- 
cham,  assessor;  A.  V.  Burcham,  James  Roberts  and  P.  S.  Gose,  highway  commis- 
sioners; Samuel  Woodward  and  T.  A.  Ireland,  justices  of  the  peace;  Daniel 
Woodward  and  Daniel  Althen,  constables. 

At  the  same  meeting,  they  voted  to  divide  the  township  into  four  road 
districts  and  nine  school  districts. 

In  1857  a  colony  of  Connecticut  people  settled  in  this  township,  taking 
seven  thousand  acres.       The  following  men  composed  the  colony:     R.  A.  Hun- 

gerford,  S.  K.  Marston,  Dr.  Babcock,  B.  IMarston,  Edmond  Havens,  William 
S.  Rossey,  William  Bentley,  Daniel  Hutchinson,  Enoch  Morgan,  Moses  Morgan, 
Theophilus  Morgan,  A.  C.  Maxon,  Henry  Dennis,  Robert  Eggleston,  Samuel 
Birdsley,  I.  N.  Newton,  N.  C.  Ball,  James  Sellick,  W.  S.  Larkin,  Lyman  Peck, 
Reuben  R.  Pearson.  The  first  child  born  in  the  township  was  Rosa  Bushor. 
The  first  marriage  celebrated  was  in  the  spring  of  1860.  James  Crow  and 
Kate  Birdsley  were  the  contracting  parties.  The  first  death  was  Mrs.  Henry 
Dennis,  who  was  buried  on  the  A.  ]\I.  Peck  farm,  section  4. 

A  blacksmith  shop  was  built  on  section  10,  by  Sanuiel  Birdsley,  at  an  early 
date. 

The  schoolhouse  in  district  No.  9  was  built  in  1866,  and  Miss  Anna  Cos- 
well  was  the  first  teacher. 

The  first  teacher  in  school  district  No.  4  was  Effie  Maxon.  In  district 
5,  William  W.  Graham  was  the  first  teacher,  and  IMrs.  S.  K.  Marston  in  school 

No.  1. 


ROBERTS. 

In  1873  the  village  suffered  a  severe  loss  by  fire,  but  with  true  American 
enterprise  the  injured  firms  rebuilt  and  now  the  town  is  one  of  the  most  flour- 
ishing in  the  county. 

The  Methodist  church  was  first  started  by  a  Mr.  Pierce,  a  Welshman,  who 
lived  near  Oliver's  Grove  and  preached  all  over  this  section  of  the  country  in 
private  houses  and  schoolhouses  at  an  early  day.  The  first  preacher  sent  here 
by  conference  was  a  Mr.  Henry  in  1871.  He  preached  in  the  Graham 
schoolhouse.  A  Sunday  school  was  organized,  with  Mr.  Van  Steenbergh  super- 
intendent. Meetings  were  held  in  the  schoolhouse  in  Roberts  the  following 
year.       When  the  hall  was  built  in  1875  services  were  held  there  until  the 


174  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Methodist  Episcopal  churcli  was  dcdiciitcd  January  22,  1882,  by  G.  W.  Que, 
presiding"  elder. 

The  Congregational  chiiroh  was  organized  in  1875  under  the  name  of  the 
First  Congregational  church  of  Rolx'rts.  A  Congregational  church  organiza- 
tion existed  in  this  township  as  early  as  18(J7.  In  1875  two  separate  bodies 
grew  out  of  the  old  oiu\  one  locating  at  Thawvillc.  Ircuiuois  county,  aiul  the 
other  at  Roberts.  Services  wi-re  held  in  the  schoolhouse  and  town  hall  until 
1879,  when  stei)s  were  taken  to  erect  a  house  of  worship,  which  was  completed 
and  dedicated  tluring  tlie  summer  of  1880. 

A  German  Evangelical  church  is  located  on  the  northeast  (piarter  of  sec- 
tion .S4.  surrounded  and  supi)orted  by  a  thriving  German  settlement. 

The  following  sketches  are  of  early  settlers,  and  some  of  the  prominent 
business  men  who  have  lived  in  Lyman  township: 

Samuel  Lym.vn,  the  first  settler,  was  born  in  Southampton,  IMassaehusetts, 
July  16,  1811,  and  moved  to  Ford  county,  Illinois,  in  1856.  He  bought  two 
hundred  and  thirty  acres  on  section  2.  Avhere  he  lived  until  1869.  He  moved 
to  Onarga,  Inxiuois  county,  and  lived  there  until  his  wife  died.  He  then 
came  to  Paxton  and  made  his  home  with  his  son,  Samuel  B.  Lyman,  or  "Burt" 
as  he  was  familiarly  called,  who  was  sheritf  of  Ford  county  for  eight  years. 

James  Roberts,  farmer,  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  England,  1816.  His 
father  died  when  he  was  eight  years  old.  leaving  James  to  shift  for  himself 
and  earn  a  penny  at  anything  he  could  do.  In  1843  he  married  Elizabeth 
(lilbert,  of  England,  by  whom  he  had  three  children.  Mv.  Robert  came  to 
this  country  in  1851,  and  to  Lyman  township,  section  32,  in  1858,  becoming 
the  owaier  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land. 

Albert  M.  Haling  was  born  in  Hartford  county,  Connecticut,  September 
30,  1820.  He  came  to  Lyman  township  in  1866,  purchasing  twelve  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  fractional  scftion  ;>,  at  eight  dollars  per  acre.  II(>  made  a 
resurvey  of  the  section,  calling  it  "Ilaling's  Subdivision."  He  sold  it  in 
1870  and  bought  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  in  sections  10  aiul  11.  w'here 
he  erected  the  tinest  house  in  tlie  township,  which  afterward  belonged  to  J.  L. 
Shorthose.  ]\Ir.  Haling  was  married  to  Lucy  A.  Groves,  of  Ellington,  Con- 
necticut, b\'  whom  he  had  live  childreiL  namely:  E.  S.,  Frank  W.,  Kate  A., 
Clarence  A.  and  Lucy  A.,  all  l)()i-n  in  Connecticut.  Mr.  Haling  was  first 
town  clerk  and  second  suix'i-visor  of  the  townshi]),  and  in  1874,  was  elected 
representative  of  the  eighteenth  congressional  district  of  Illinois. 

E.  S.  IlATiiNG  was  born  in  Hartford  county,  Connecticut,  October  4,  1850, 
and  came  here  with  his  father  in  A[)ril,  1866. 


HISTORY   OF  FOKD   COUNTY  175 

Edward  Van  Steenbergh,  one  of  the  most  oxtensive  farmers  of  tliis  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  in  1814.  He  came  to  this  town- 
ship in  1871,  settling  on  section  28,  ownin":  six  hnndrod  and  forty  acres,  and 
annually  shipped  large  quantities  of  hay  to  Chicago. 

The  IIurst  Family  is  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Lyman  township. 
Joseph  and  Mary  Hurst  came  to  this  country  from  England  in  1847,  settling 
in  New  Jersey,  where  IMr.  Hurst  died  in  1849.  ]\Irs-.  Mary  Hurst  came  west 
and  settled  on  section  30,  this  township.  She  died  in  1875.  Helen  and  Han- 
nali  (maiden  ladies)  afterward  owned  the  old  homestead.  One  of  the  children, 
Ann,  lived  in  Gloucester,  New  Jersey. 

William  Hurst  was  l)orn  in  1838  and  canie  to  Ford  county  in  1855,  becom- 
ing the  owner  of  land  in  section  30.  He  married  IMary,  daughter  of  James 
Roberts. 

Joseph  Hurst  was  l)orn  July  8.  1834,  in  Edgerton,  England.  Coming 
to  this  western  country,  he  settled  in  Bureau  county,  Avliere  he  lived  for  several 
years  and  married  IMiss  Harriett  Harvey,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children.  Com- 
ing to  Lyman  township  in  1858,  he  bought  two  sections  of  land  from  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company,  but  j^oor  crops  and  hard  times  came  and  Mr. 
Hurst  became  very  poor.  His  main  dependence  was  a  shot-gun,  which  was 
taken  from  him  on  execution ;  the  officer,  repenting  the  act,  returned  the  gun. 
]Mr.  Hurst  often  spoke  of  this,  to  show  the  contrast  from  that  day  to  the  day 
when  he  owned  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  one  mile  from  Roberts,  under 
excellent  cultivation. 

Amos  C.  IMaxon  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lyme,  state  of  Connecticut,  in 
1821.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  he  went  on  board  ship  with  Captain 
Chadwick,  making  three  voyages  a  year  for  seven  years  He  came  to  Ford 
i.'ounty  in  1858,  settling  on  section  14.  He  was  married  to  Phoebe  E.  Pierson, 
of  Connecticut,  in  1851,  and  six  children  were  b(»rn  to  them.  ]\Ir.  ]\Iaxon  was 
one  of  the  colony  that  came  to  this  county  from  Connecticut. 

M.  Cassingham,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  JNIuskingum  county,  Ohio,  in  1841.  In 
1845,  he  came  to  Kendall  county.  Illinois,  living  there  several  years.  He  moved 
to  Grundy  county,  and  later  to  Ford  county,  settling  at  Roberts  in  1871.  He 
graduated  from  the  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  in  1874.  In  1862  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Ellen  Cullen,  of  Canada. 

Ora  W.  Cassingham  was  born  in  (irundy  count\-,  Illinois,  in  1854.  He 
came  to  Roberts  in  1880,  to  engage  in  the  drug  Inisiness  with  liis  1)rother.  Dr. 
Cassingham.      For  several  years  he  followed  the  map  publishing  lousiness,  meet- 


176  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

ing  with  good  success.  September  26,  1883,  lie  married  Elmira.  daughter  of 
Lycurgns  Burns,  of  Roberts. 

Charles  0.  Hayes,  a  native  of  Clinton  county,  New  York,  came  to  Ken- 
dall county,  Illinois,  in  1855,  where  he  lived  until  1861,  then  moved  to  McLean 
county.  He  came  to  Roberts  and  opened  the  Glencoe  Hotel  in  1881.  He 
kept  a  good  hotel  and  obtained  a  full  share  of  the  traveling  public.  In  1859 
he  was  married  to  Lusina  Alford,  of  Clinton  county.  New  York,  by  whom  he 
had  four  children. 

Chris  Anderson,  a  native  of  Scotland,  bought  a  farm  in  this  county  in 
1865.  He  farmed  until  1872  and  then  went  into  partnership  with  J.  A.  Montel- 
ius  and  George  Campbell.  In  1874  Mr.  Montelius  sold  out  to  the  other  partners, 
who  continued  doing  a  general  merchandise  and  grain  business.  In  1876 
George  Campbell  went  to  Piper  City  and  engaged  in  the  banking  business,  and 
Mr.  Anderson  remained  in  Roberts.  In  1881  he  bought  out  the  banking  busi- 
ness of  J.  B.  IMeserve.  He  was  married  to  INIary  jMartin,  of  ^larshall  county, 
Illinois,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children,  all  girls. 

William  B.  Flora  was  born  in  Campbell  county,  Kentucky,  in  1841.  In 
1868  he  settled  in  Iroquois  county,  Illinois.  He  opened  a  store  in  this  place 
in  1872  and,  in  company  with  E.  O.  Newman,  carried  on  a  good  mercantile  bus- 
iness. In  1874  he  married  ]\Iary  Jane  Newman,  of  Kentucky.  They  had  five 
children.  Later  lie  moved  to  Paxton,  where  he  is  and  has  been  county  clerk 
for  several  years. 

E.  B.  Beighle  was  born  in  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  14, 
1836,  and  came  to  Lyman  township  in  November,  1869. 

William  Hough  Bond  and  James  Bond  were  born  in  ]\Ianchester,  Eng- 
land. William  was  born  February  14,  1841,  and  James,  February  11,  1844. 
William  came  to  Lj'^man  township  in  1866,  and  soon  afterward  engaged  in 
farming.      They  both  became  the  owners  of  tine  farms. 

Charles  Ringeisen  was  born  in  Germany,  July  25.  1844.  He  came  to 
Ford  c(mnty  in  1881,  and  became  an  active  farmer  in  Lyman  township. 

Arthur  Swanick  was  born  in  County  ]\Iayo,  Iivland,  September  16,  1832. 

He  came  to  New  York  state  in  1855;  to  Illinois  in  1862;  and  to  this  township 

in  1872,  becoming  the  owner  of  eighty  acres  in  section  6. 

Patrick  McQuillen,  a  native  of  Ireland,  came  to  Ford  county  in  1868, 
and  settled  in  section  32,  Lyman  township. 

John  Hummel  was  born  in  Germany,  August  7,  1834.       He  emigrated  to 

America  and  settled  in  Illinois  in  1854;  settled  in  Lyman  township  in  1869, 

and  engaged  in  farming. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  177 

George  E.  Reynolds  was  horn  in  Knox  county,  Illinois,  November  12, 
1859.  He  moved  to  Lyman  township  in  the  sprin<?  of  1881  and  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits. 

Samuel  Shute  was  born  in  Gloucester  county,  New  Jersey,  October  19, 
1821.  He  moved  to  this  township  in  1868  and  became  the  owner  of  eight  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres. 

John  Roberts  was  born  ]\Iarch  23,  1885,  in  Sussex  county,  England.  He 
came  to  this  county  in  1859  and  settled  on  section  32,  Lyman  township. 

Nicholas  Hummel  was  born  in  Germany,  September  18,  1836.  He  came 
to  Lyman  township  and  settled  on  section  5. 

I.  C.  Newman,  a  native  of  Madison  county,  Ohio,  came  to  Illinois  in  1852, 
and  to  this  township  in  1867,  becoming  the  owner  of  a  farm  in  section  8,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising. 

Robert  H.  Gresham  was  born  in  Christian  county,  Kentucky,  September 
6,  1848.      He  came  to  this  state  in  1850,  and  to  Ford  county  in  1882. 

John  Crawford  was  born  in  Albany  county.  New  York,  in  1841.  He 
came  to  the  state  of  Illinois  in  1865,  and  to  Ford  county  in  1871,  where  ho 
became  the  owner  of  a  good  farm  in  section  2,  Lyman  township. 

H.  ]\r.  Wilcox  was  born  in  Stockbridge,  Oneida  county,  New  York.  He 
left  the  state  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1868,  becoming  the  owner  of  a  large  farm 
and  carrying  on  a  dairy  business. 

John  Cook  was  born  in  Germany  in  1843.  He  emigrated  to  America  in 
1867,  and  settled  in  Illinois  in  1879,  becoming  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  in 
section  13. 

B.  F.  Iler  was  born  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  in  1848.  He  settled  in 
Lyman  township  in  1874. 

Charles  Fellwock,  a  native  of  Germany,  came  to  this  country  to  better 
his  condition.  He  settled  in  Ford  county  in  1867,  becoming  the  owner  of  a 
good  farm  in  section  35. 

George  Minch  was  born  in  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  in  1847,  where  he 
lived  until  1881,  when  he  moved  to  Wall  to\vnship,  where  he  became  the  owmer 
of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3 ;  also  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  on  sec- 
tion 22,  this  township.      He  was  married  in  1869. 

F.  W.  Halling,  traveling  salesman,  w^as  born  in  Tolland  county,  Connecti- 
cut, January  13,  1854,  and  came  to  Illinois  in  April,  1866. 

Prince  Tobev,  born  in  New  York  state  in  1820,  came  to  Ford  county,  Illi- 
nois, in  1865. 


178  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 


MONA  TOWNSHIP. 


Tlie  townsliip  of  ^Foiia  was  set  off  from  Roo-ers  ]\Iareh  2,  1870,  being  the 
last  township  organized  in  the  eounty.  When  first  created,  it  was  called  Delhi, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Supervisor  Bishop,  of  Brenton  township^  hut  several  months 
after  was  changed  to  IMona,  at  the  request  of  the  citizens  of  the  township. 

It  was  so  named  because  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  township  were 
natives  of  the  Isle  of  ^lan.  Through  the  kindness  of  David  Keighin,  we  will 
give  a  brief  sketch  of  that  lonely  island : 

The  Isle  of  ]\Ian  is  situated  in  the  Irish  sea.  nearly  equi-distant  from  the 
three  surrounding  countries.  Its  area  is  about  two  lumdred  and  twenty  square 
miles.  Two-thirds  of  the  island  consists  of  arable  and  meadow  land,  and  the 
remainder  of  heath  and  moor.  The  climate  is  highly  salubrious,  being  exempt 
from  oppressive  heats  in  sunnuer  and  frosts  in  winter.  The  eonnnerce  is  not 
great;  the  chief  article  of  export  is  fish  (herring)  bringing  in  a  clever  revenue  of 
forty  thousand  pounds  a  year.  The  language  of  the  island  is  one  of  the  three  dia- 
lects of  Celtic,  which  still  continues  to  be  spoken  there.  It  is  similar  to  the 
Irish;  therefore,  the  natives  of  Ireland,  the  highlanders  of  Scotland  and  the 
IManksman  have  little  difficulty  in  understanding  each  other.  The  island  is 
divided  into  six  manors,  and  these  subdivided  into  seventeen  parishes.  The 
island  obtained  its  name  from  the  original  founder  and  legislator  of  the  island. 
Mannanan  IMacLer;  the  name  being  contracted  to  IMannin,  and  in  later  years  to 
Mann.  Mona,  wath  which  Mann  is  often  confounded,  is  rather  a  description 
of  the  island,  than. a  name.  Mona  signifies  isolated  or  lonely,  and  was  doubt- 
less applied  to  the  isle  by  the  inhabitants  of  surrounding  countries. 

Mona  township  is  ])ounded  on  the  north  hy  Rogers  township,  on  the  east 
by  Iroquois  county,  south  by  the  township  of  Fella,  and  west  by  Livingston 
county.  It  is  a  congressional  township,  being  six  miles  square.  The  north 
half  is  a  tine  body  of  undulating  prairie  land,  settled  by  an  excellent  class  of 
intelligent  farmers. 

The  southwest  part  of  the  township  is  low,  level  land  wilh  deep  soil,  and 
in  dry  seasons  capable  of  raising  large  croi)s  of  corn,  while  the  ri'nuiimler  of 
the  township  is  covered  over  with  a  large  marsli,  called  the  Vermilion  swamps. 
A  great  part  of  this  has  been  drained. 

The  first  settler  in  jMona  was  Matthew  Faddling.  who  came  here  a  great 
many  years  ago,  and  settled  on  section  5.  Among  the  early  settlers  may  be 
mentioned  Jacob  Ilolderman,  Louis  Falter,  Sr.,  Wright  Kemp,  M.  C.  Lewis, 
Daniel  Morrical,   Thomas  Kelly,  John  Looney,    Thomas    Ileavysides,    Robert 


AT  ROBERTS . 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  181 

Lewin,  Samuel  Dowse,  William  Cowley,  George  Sherman,  John  and  William 
Dancer  and  Henry  Benson. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Kelly,  at  which 
time  David  Keighin  w^as  elected  supervisor. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  32,  Belle 
Hose  being  the  first  teacher.  Schools  Nos.  3  and  5  were  started  abovit  the  same 
time. 

In  the  spring  of  1867  fourteen  new  dwelling  houses  were  being  built  in 
the  township  at  the  same  time. 

The  first  postoffice  was  at  the  house  of  John  F.  Bute,  named  Sugar  Loaf, 
the  mail  coming  from  Clifton. 

The  first  religious  services  in  the  township  were  held  in  school  No.  3.  The 
Sunday  school  Avas  started  by  George  Sherman,  who  was  the  superintendent  for 
seven  j^ears. 

The  town  hall  on  the  southeast  corner  of  section  8  was  built  for  the  pur- 
pose of  holding  religious,  political,  social  and  literary  meetings.  In  1876,  a 
literary  society  w^as  organized  with  John  A.  Scott,  president ;  David  Keighin, 
vice  president;  A.  Anderson,  secretary;  and  M.  A.  Dinsmore,  treasurer,  the  cen- 
tral object  being  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  literature  among  the  residents  of  the 
township.  The  exercises  of  the  ^lona  Literary  Society  were  somewhat  varied; 
the  main  object  being  the  improvement  of  the  social  condition  of  the  com- 
munity. Their  efforts  were  ably  seconded  by  other  districts  of  Ford  and 
adjoining  counties,  and  liberal  donations  were  received  from  Paxton,  Piper 
City,  Clift(m  and  other  towns. 

The  society  flourished  until  the  village  of  Kempton  was  started  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  township,  which  drew  away  some  of  the  citizens  and 
much  of  the  interest  that  centered  at  the  hall. 

The  first  preaching  in  the  township  was  at  the  Bute  schoolhouse,  by  Rev. 
]M.  C.  Lewis,  a  IMethodist  preacher.  The  society  then  numbered  fourteen 
members. 

In  1881  the  society  erected  a  churcli  in  Kempton  under  the  supervision  of 
Rev.  Joe  Bell,  pastor,  and  A.  Stuart,  R.  F.  Bell  and  James  Kemp,  trustees.  The 
new  church  was  dedicated  the  28th  of  April,  1882,  by  Rev.  B.  F  Tallman.  R. 
F.  Bell  was  appointed  the  first  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 

KEMPTON. 

Kempton  is  the  only  village  in  the  township,  a  station  on  the  Kankakee  & 
Southwestern  Railroad.      It  was  laid  out  in  1878  by  Wright  Kemj).       The  rail- 


182  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

road  company  called  their  station  Kempton,  in  honoi-  of  ]\Ir.  Kemp,  who  ren- 
dered them  excellent  service  in  securing  the  right  of  way  for  the  railroad  across 
the  township. 

J.  W.  Brown  built  the  first  frame  house  in  the  village. 

J.  E.  Seyster  was  the  first  station  agent. 

The  following  is  a  In-ief  mention  of  some  ui  the  early  settlers  and  leading 
men  who  lived  in  IMona  township: 

David  Keighin,  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  ^lan.  came  to  Tennessee  in  1848.  and 
to  this  township  from  Peoria  in  18G9.  He  became  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  on  section  11.  In  connection  with  his  farm, 
he,  with  his  son  Charles,  engaged  in  the  grain  business  in  Kempton.  Mr. 
Keighin  was  elected  the  first  supervisor  of  Mona,  which  office  he  held  for  several 
years. 

Thomas  Kelly  came  from  the  Isle  of  Man  in  the  spring  of  ISIO,  in  the 
same  ship  with  David  Keighin.  He  moved  to  this  township  in  1867,  coming 
from  Galva,  Henry  county.  In  reviewing  the  lives  of  successful  men,  how 
true  do  we  find  in  nearly  every  instance,  that  hard  work,  economy  and  industry 
have  biid  the  foundation  of  future  prosperity.  ]\Ir.  Kelly  was  no  exception 
to  tliis  rule,  and  after  hard  work,  acquired  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land. 

Joseph  McKinney,  a  son  of  Archibald  McKinney,  is  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Brenton  towaiship.  Mr.  IMcKinney  came  to  Kempton  in  1880,  and 
bought  out  the  hardware  store  and  lumberyard  of  John  IMcKinney,  who  after- 
ward engaged  in  business  in  Piper  City. 

Samuel  Dowse  came  to  this  township  in  1868,  settling  on  section  8.  He 
became  tlie  ownin-  of  three  liundred  and  sixty  acres  of  fine  land,  with  good 
improvements.  He  was  assessor  for  six  years,  and  also  held  the  office  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace. 

Louis  Falter,  jr.,  was  born  in  Ohio.  He  came  to  Mona  township  in  1869. 
He  became  the  OAvner  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  4. 

John  Looney,  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  ]\Ian,  became  the  owner  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres  of  excellent  land. 

John  A.  Scott,  a  native  of  Washington  coiinly.  I'ciiiisylvania,  came  to  this 
township  in  1870,  and  settled  on  secticm  9. 

Henry  Benson  left  England  in  1854  and  came  to  Kendall  i-ounty,  Illinois, 
then  to  this  townshi})  in  1867,  settling  on  section  1. 

John  and  William  Dancer  came  from  Will  county  before  the  township 
was  settled-  with  large  droves  of  cattle  to  hertl  on  the  Vermilion  swamps  during 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  183 

the  siininier.  Tliey  herded  as  many  as  a  thousand  head  that  were  placed  under 
their  care  in  a  season.  In  1873  they  came  here  to  live  and  became  the  owners 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land.  John  Dancer  was  one  of  the  drain- 
age commissioners  of  the  special  Vermilion  ditch. 

Frank  Drendel  was  horn  in  Germany  in  1838.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1865,  and  to  section  21,  Mona  township,  in  1868. 

Robert  Lewin,  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  came  here  in  1868,  and  became 
the  owner  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land. 

Daniel  Morrical  Avas  l)orn  in  Laurel  Hill,  Virginia,  in  1836.  He  moved  to 
Ohio,  then  lived  in  Indiana  twenty-two  years,  and  finally  settled  in  Ford  county 
in  1869.  He  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  school  director  for 
several  years. 

George  Essington,  a  native  of  England,  came  to  this  township  in  1871,  set- 
tling on  section  1. 

John  Sutton  was  born  in  England  in  1835.  He  left  there  in  1858,  settling 
first  in  New  York  state,  then  moved  to  Grundy  county,  Illinois,  where  he 
remained  some  ten  years.  He  enlisted  in  the  Ninety-first  Illinois  Regiment, 
and  was  in  the  service  three  years.  He  moved  to  section  3,  Mona  township, 
in  1869. 

John  Thorndyke  was  born  in  England.  He  came  to  this  township  from 
Grundy  county,  in  1882,  becoming  the  owner  of  the  northwest  cpiarter  in 
section  31. 

James  E.  Farley  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  came  here  in  1875,  becom- 
ing the  owner  of  two  hunderd  and  forty  acres  on  section  5.  At  one  time  he 
was  assessor. 

James  Kemp  was  born  in  Kendall  county,  Illinois,  in  1853,  being  the  son 
of  Wright  Kemp  who  afterward  moved  to  Kankakee  City. 


ROGERS  TOWNSHIP. 

Rogers  township  is  the  extreme  north  township  of  the  county,  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Kankakee  county,  on  the  east  by  Iroquois,  on  the  south  by  Mona 
township  and  on  the  west  by  Livingston  county. 

It  derived  its  name  from  Jeremy  W.  Rogers,  its  first  supervisor.  This 
township  was  originally  called  Grant,  and  when  organized  composed  the  present 
townships  of  Mona  and  Rogers. 

A  petition  from  the  citizens  of  Grant  to  the  board  of  supervisors  to  change 
the  name  to  Rogers  was  granted  in  the  spring  of  1864. 


184  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

This  is  considered  the  ])est  township  in  the  county,  with  at  least  seventy- 
five  per  cent  of  the  area,  suitabh'  and  adapted  to  fanning  purposes,  that  can 
l)e  made  to  produce  excellent  crops. 

Tt  is  peopled  with  industrious,  enterprisintr  and  prou'ressive  farmers,  show- 
inu'  ninny  well  improved  farms. 

Among  tlie  early  settlers  were  Jeremy  AV.  Rogers.  AVilliam  Atherton,  Jared 
Williams,  James  Clayton,  Henry  Clayton,  John  Clayton,  William  Clayton, 
]\rary  Clayton.  James  Taylor,  Edward  Clayton,  Samuel  Clayton,  Peter  Taylor, 
David  Rogers,  A.  Saddler,  Peter  Minich,  Abraham  Cook,  D.  and  S.  Burroughs, 
William  Bouk,  N.  Wagner,  Samuel  C.  Farley,  Charles  Shumacher,  Wright 
Kemp,  George  Hargreaves,  Jacob  Hare,  J.  C.  Eldridge,  E.  Quayle,  D.  F.  Bren- 
isa,  D.  B.  Case  and  J.  Broadbent. 

The  first  church  l)uilt  in  the  township  was  the  Catholic  church  in  Cabery. 

The  next  cluirch  was  built  at  Eldridgeville  by  the  ]\Iethodists. 

In  1878  the  Germans  erected  a  chapel  on  Henry  Clayton's  land,  called 
The  Church  of  God.       J.  M.  Castle  was  the  first  German  preacher. 

The  first  postoffice  was  at  Eldridgeville.  with  John  Eldridge  as  postmaster, 
although  at  an  early  date  the  farmers  took  turns  in  bringing  the  mail  from 
Dwight,  which  was  left  at  Jared  Williams'  house. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  farm  owned  by  George  Riggs  and  i\Iiss 
Laura  Cook,  who  afterward  liecame  ]Mrs.  Charles  Bouk,  was  the  first  teacher. 


CABERY. 

Cabery  is  the  principal  village  in  Rogers  township,  situated  on  tlie  middle 
division  of  the  Illinois  Central  or  Kankakee  &  South  Western  Railroad.  It 
lies  on  the  county  line,  the  largest  half  in  Rogers  to^^^^ship.  which  was  first 
laid  out.  It  was  incorporated  as  a  village  in  the  fall  of  1881  and  contains  stores 
of  various  kinds  and  a  newspaper  called  the  Cabery  Enterprise.  There  is  a 
public  hall  and  one  ]\Iasonic  hall.  The  place  is  a  wide-awake,  go-ahead  one, 
containing  a  class  of  good  cili/.ciis,  who  heartily  niiile  ui)on  any  cnter])rise  or 
iiiipi'ovciiiciit  for  flic  public  good. 

The  supervisors  of  the  townsliip  have  been  Jeremy  W.  Rogers,  18()4;  John 
C.  Eldridge,  1866;  D.  B.  Case,  1867;  Edward  Clayton,  1868;  Thomas  Winstanley, 
1872;  SmiuucI  Clayton.  187:5;  James  Ogilvie,  1876;  W.  V>.  Sargeanf,  1881;  re- 
elected 1882  and  188:^ 

The  following  is  a  brief  mention  of  some  of  the  old  settlers  who  have  lived 
and  are  still  living  in  Rogers  township: 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY.  185 

Peter  Taylor,  a  native  of  IMorgau  county,  Ohio,  came  to  Rogers  township  in 
1865,  settling  on  section  35. 

Frank  ]\[.  Cook  was  born  at  Elkhart  county,  Indiana.  He  came  to  this 
township  in  1864.  settling  on  a  tine  farm  one  mile  from  Cabery. 

James  Ogilvie.  a  native  of  Licking  county-  Ohio,  coming  to  this  townshij)  in 
1866  ;  he  settled  on  section  22. 

Samuel  Clayton,  a  native  of  Enghmd,  came  to  Rogers  township  in  1865, 
settling  on  section  33. 

James  Clayton,  a  native  of  Chester,  England,  came  to  this  country  in  18-I-9. 
and  to  Rogers  township  in  1868,  settling  on  a  fine  farm  in  section  31.  lie  laid 
out  a  part  of  the  village  of  Kempton,  called  Clayton's  Addition. 

David  Huntley,  a  native  of  NewYork,  came  to  this  township  in  1859.  and 
became  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Ford  county,  and  eighty 
acres,  the  home  place,  just  over  the  line  in  Livingston  county. 

George  Hargreaves  was  born  in  England,  coming  to  America  in  1854;  he 
first  settled  in  Kendall  county,  Illinois.  In  1867  he  moved  to  this  township, 
settling  on  section  36. 

W.  B.  Sz\rgeant,  a  native  of  England,  came  to  Cabery  in  1865,  being  engaged 
in  the  hardware  business. 

James  F.  Wright  was  born  in  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York,  in  1840.  He 
came  to  Cabery  in  1876  and  engaged  in  the  lumber  business. 

Andrew^  Stuart,  a  farmer,  native  of  Canada,  settled  in  Grundv  countv.  Illi- 
nois in  1843.  He  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth  Illinois 
Volunteers  in  1862,  remaining  in  the  field  until  the  war  was  over. 

JosHi'A  Henthron  came  to  this  county  from  England  in  1856.  He  settled 
on  section  28.  Rogers  township.  He  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
good  land  from  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company. 

Frank  ]\IcLaughlin  was  born  in  Grundy  county  in  1853.  He  came  to  this 
township  in  1880.      He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  Clayton,  in  1874. 

Frank  Stuart,  son  of  Andrew  Stuart.  Avas  born  in  Livingston  county  in 
1856.      He  married  Alice,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Clayton. 

John  and  Alfred  Clayton,  sons  of  Henry  Clayton,  were  born  in  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania.  John  came  to  this  township  in  1865,  and  Alfred  in  1868, 
])oth  owning  homes  on  section  25. 

Charles  Curd  was  born  in  the  county  of  Kent.  England.  He  came  to 
America  in  1846  and  to  section  20,  this  township  in  1876. 

William  Naas,  a  native  of  Germany,  came  to  this  township  in  1870,  locating 
on  section  29. 


186  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

In  1865,  Mrs.  Priscilla  Taylor,  widow  of  James  Taylor,  deceased,  together 
with  Samuel  and  Edward  Clayton,  Peter  Taylor  and  others,  came  from  Ohio  to 
Rogers  township,  Mrs.  Taylor  with  her  children,  residing  on  section  35. 

IMrs.  Elizabeth  Clayton,  widow  of  William  Clayton,  an  early  settler,  came 
to  Rogers  township  from  Noble  county,  Ohio,  residing  in  a  beautiful  home  on 
their  farm  on  section  27. 


FIRE     AT     CABERY     IN     1885. 

On  Sunday  morning,  May  3,  1885,  Cabery  was  visited  by  a  disastrous  fire, 
and  the  town  was  almost  obliterated  by  the  flames.  Twenty-four  business 
houses  and  fourteen  dwellings  went  up  in  smoke.  The  total  loss  was  estimated 
at  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  with  about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  insur- 
ance. The  village  was  without  fire  protection,  and  no  aid  from  other  towr.s 
could  l)e  secured  in  time  to  stay  the  devouring  flames.  The  fire  originated  in 
a  millinery  store  at  3  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Several  guests  w^ere  in  the 
Commercial  Hotel,  which  was  destroyed,  and  barely  escaped  with  their  lives. 

PEACH  ORCHARD  TOWNSHIP. 

September  15,  1868,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  board  of  supervisors, 
asking  their  aid  in  creating  a  new  township  out  of  the  township  of  Di\.  com- 
posed and  described  as  the  east  two-thirds  of  the  north  half  of  town  24  north,  and 
the  south  half  of  town  25  north,  in  range  8  east,  "and  on  motion  of  Supervisor 
Davis,  it  was  ordered  by  the  board  that  said  territory  be  and  is  hereb}^  set  off  in 
accordance  with  the  prayer  of  said  petition ;  and  it  is  further  ordered  that  the 
territory  set  oft"  shall  l)e  known  and  designated  as  Peach  Orchard." 

In  1855  Joshua  T.  Nicholson  planted  one  thousand  peach  trees  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  21,  town  25  north,  range  8  east.  This  large  orchard  was 
cultivated  for  about  twelve  years,  when  the  trees  died  and  were  never  replaced. 
This  is  how  the  township  came  to  be  named  Peach  Orchard. 

William  1>.  Holmes,  Joshua  T.  Nicholson,  Elick  Nicholson,  Alexander 
Nicholson  and  David  Spencer  were  the  early  settlers  of  this  township  until  the 
fall  of  1867,  when  the  township  was  rapidly  settled  up.  Among  those  coming 
were  John  lelil,  the  Hunt  family,  G.  and  J.  Dixon,  John  Wilson,  Joshua  TTm- 
barger,  John  Coiiiiift',  W.  B.  Knight,  George  and  William  Foster,  G.  and  O. 
Defriese,  A.  IlcUmaii,  Joseph  Fletcher,  John  and  William  Boiiiidy.  Roliei'l. 
Ashley,  P.  Brady.  Williaiti   Underwood,  Michael  Sdiills,  Ed  McKaiin.i.   Henry 


V      *V-'i' 


AT   MELVI 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  189 

Rowc-liff,  Georue  ami  T.  Arends,  Charles  Gardner,  Isaac  C.  Day,  T.  D.  Thompson, 
William  Frazius,  William  Lackey,  George  Phillips,  Lot  Robb,  T.  and  J.  Mc- 
Laughlin and  John  Thaekery. 

The  first  school  building  in  this  township  was  the  "Grand  Prairie"  (No.  8), 
although  a  year  or  so  before  this  was  built  an  old  building  was  moved  into  the 
township  from  Wall  and  used  for  school  purposes.  It  was  called  the  "Black 
College."       The  first  teacher  was  Robert  Hutchinson. 

The  first  marriage  occurred  in  this  township  in  1857,  the  contracting  parties 
being  Elick  Nicholson  and  INIiss  Margaret  Scott.  Charles  Rodenhour  was  the 
first  person  wlio  died.      He  was  buried  on  section  'A.  in  the  fall  of  1858. 

On  ]\Iay  20th,  1857,  ]\Iiss  Fanny  A.  Holmes,  daughter  of  Squire  Holmes, 
was  born,  the  first  child  in  Peach  Orchard.  She  became  the  wife  of  Paul 
Keostner. 

This  toAvnship  has  a  railroad  diagonally  across  it,  originally  known  as  the 
Oilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield,  now  the  Springfield  Division  of  the  Illinois 
Central.  The  township  took  twenty-three  thousand  dollars  of  stock,  issuing 
bonds  therefor  for  twenty  years,  drawing  ten  per  cent  interest.  The  road  was 
completed  in  1871  and  trains  were  running  that  winter. 

D.  K.  Pearson,  of  Chicago,  owned  the  east  tier  of  sections  in  this  township, 
and  one  day  in  November  he  came  down  here  and  sold  the  entire  tier  of  sections ; 
the  average  price  paid  was  eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre. 


MELVIN. 

Melvin,  named  after  the  president  of  the  (Jilman,  Clinton  &  Springfield 
Railroad,  is  the  only  village  in  the  township.  It  was  surveyed  and  laid  out  at 
the  request  of  Enoch  Hunt,  and  includes  about  sixty-five  acres.  It  is  situated 
on  the  south  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  1,  and  contains  a  fine  school 
building. 

T.  D.  Thompson  was  the  first  station  agent,  and  built  the  first  house  in  the 

village. 

John  Lyer  was  the  first  postmaster  and  opened  the  first  general  store  in  tho 

village. 

In  1905  a  graded  school  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  thousand 
dollars. 

The  following  is  a  brief  mention  of  the  early  settlers  and  leading  citizens 
who  have  lived  in  Peach  Orchard  township : 


]no  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

William  B.  Holmes  was  born  in  England  in  1820.  He  emigrated  to 
America  in  1849,  landing  in  New  York.  He  went  to  Fond  du  Lac  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  he  remained  about  three  years.  He  then  moved  to  Georgetown, 
Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  for  several 
years,  then  moved  to  what  is  now  Peach  Orchard  township  in  April,  ]855,  set- 
tling on  a  farm  which  he  afterward  owned.  He  built  the  first  house  and  turned 
the  first  furrow  in  this  township.  In  1860  the  Prince  of  Wales'  suite — Captain 
Carter,  Hon.  C.  A.  Ellis,  now  Duke  of  Rutland,  and  a  German  connected  with 
the  Royal  family,  with  their  servants, — were  in  this  part  of  the  country  hunting 
and  spent  several  days  with  ]\Ir.  Holmes.  He  was  married  December  2G,  181:4, 
to  Miss  Eliza  Wren,  of  Yorkshire,  England.  Mr.  Holmes  had  the  office  of  super- 
visor, assessor  and  justice  of  the  peace. 

Thomas  D.  Thompson  was  born  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  in  1847,  where  he 
resided  until  1864.  He  then  moved  to  Illinois,  and  in  1868  settled  in  Ford 
county  and  was  the  first  station  agent  at  IMelvin.  He  engaged  in  the  grocery 
and  dry-goods  business  and  was  postmaster  of  Melvin.  Mr.  Tlionipson  always 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  liuilding  up  of  the  churches  and  schools  in  this  place. 
Later,  he  moved  to  Paxton,  where  he  is  and  has  been  circuit  clerk  for  a  number 
of  years. 

Enoch  S.  Hunt  was  born  in  ]\Iarshall  county,  Illinois,  in  1833.  He  moved 
to  La  Salle  county  in  1847,  and  lived  there  until  1868,  when  he  moved  to  Ford 
county.  In  1854  he  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Mary  Griffen.  ]\Ir.  Hunt  was  instru- 
mental in  starting  the  village  of  Melvin  and  in  securing  the  railroad  across  the 
township. 

William  S.  Larkin  was  born  in  Rhode  Island,  March  5,  1826.  He  came 
to  Ford  county  from  Connecticut  in  1857,  settling  in  Lyman  township.  After- 
Avard  he  engaged  in  business  with  his  son-in-law  in  Melvin. 

Edw^vrd  S.  Jenkins  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylv;ini;i,  July  4, 
1842.  He  moved  to  INIarshall  county,  Illinois,  in  1849,  where  he  lived  on  a  farm 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  He  enlisted  in  the  Ninth  Illinois 
Infantry,  remaining  in  the  service  until  the  war  closed,  when  he  was  lionorably 
discharged  and  returned  to  his  farm.  He  married  Miss  Sarali  Robinson,  of 
Canada,  and  moved  to  Peach  Orchard  township.  After  farming  for  several 
years,  he  moved  to  Melvin  and  opened  a  meat  mai'ket. 

Augustus  P.  Gould  was  l)orn  in  KciHhiil  county,  Illinois,  OctobiM-  5.  1848. 
He  lived  there  until  1858,  when  he  moved  lo  Dwight,  Livingston  county,  farm- 
ing, attending  sclio<tl   and  clerking  in  a  store  until  eighteen  yeai's  passed  away, 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  191 

when  he  moved  to  JMelvin  and  built  and  opened  a  .store  of  <?eneral  merchandise. 
He  was  married,  October  16,  1878,  to  IMaggie  E.  Wolverton,  of  Pontiac. 

Edward  G.  Collins,  born  in  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  September  22, 
1851.  His  i)arents  died  when  he  \vas  a  young  man.  After  learning  the  har- 
nessmaker's  trade  and  being  anxious  to  establish  himself  in  business,  came  west 
and  settled  in  Melvin,  where  he  carried  on  business  with  success.  In  1876  he 
was  married  to  Martha  M.  Shute. 

John  S.  Hunt  came  to  this  place  in  1867.  becoming  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm 
of  six  hundred  acres.  He  was  first  collector  of  the  township,  also  served  two 
terms  as  supervisor  and  was  school  director  for  many  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  IMethodist  church,  to  which  he  contributed  largely.  He  always 
took  an  active  part  in  all  affairs  of  school,  church  or  township. 

John  Iehl  was  born  in  the  province  of  Alsace,  France,  in  1839.  When 
eleven  years  old  he,  with  his  parents,  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Lake  county, 
Illinois,  and  engaged  in  farming.  When  he  became  of  age  he  started  in  life 
for  himself,  going  to  INIarshall  county,  Illinois,  and  working  on  a  farm.  In 
1867  he  bought  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  28,  Peach  Orchard,  and  farmed 
it  until  1873,  when  he  bought  the  grain  elevator  in  IMelvin  and  carried  on  the 
grain  business  with  great  success.  In  1871  he  married  Miss  Mary  Arends.  In 
1881  Mr.  Iehl  was  elected  supervisor  of  the  township,  which  office  he  held  for 
several  years. 

W.  T.  Gash  was  born  in  England,  June  3,  1837,  where  he  lived  until  he  was 
t\venty-one  years  old,  then  came  to  America  and  began  farming  in  Henry  county, 
Illinois.  In  1869  he  came  to  Peach  Orchard  and  located  in  section  23.  In  1874 
he  married  Miss  Sarah  A.  Bevins. 

JosiAH  Umbarger,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  1834.  and  at  the 
age  of  ten  years  came  west  with  his  parents  to  Putnam  county,  Illinois.  In 
1860  he  married  Miss  Jane  Allen. 

Gerhard  Depries  was  born  in  Germany  in  1827.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  years  he  came  to  America  and  landed  in  New  Orleans.  He  bought  a  farm 
in  Peach  Orchard  in  the  spring  if  1868.  In  1857  he  married  Miss  Ilissky 
Hilmers,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children. 

Henry  Rowclippe  was  born  in  England  in  1843.  He  settled  in  Ford 
county  in  1869,  on  section  33.  In  1859  he  married  Martha  Dunn,  of  England. 
His  second  wife  was  Sarah  Bell. 

Wn.LLVM  Cooper  was  born  in  England  in  1830.  He  came  to  America  in 
1862.       lie  learned  the  tailoring  trade.       He  came  to  Peach  Orchard  township 


192  HISTORY  OF  FORD   rOT'XTY 

from  Fairbury,  Illinois,  and  went  to  fannin<:'.  In  ^S'^')  he  married  INIiss  Eliza- 
beth Cole,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children. 

WiLLizVM  BouNDY  WHS  born  in  England,  October  30,  1832.  He  emigrated 
to  America  in  1857,  first  settling  in  New  York  state.  He  came  to  Peach  Orchard 
township  from  Peoria  county,  Illinois,  in  1871.  He  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Hill,  of  England,  March  27,  1853,  by  whom  he  has  six  children. 

William  Foster  was  ])orn  in  Rochester  eonnty.  New  York,  in  1833.  He 
came  west  and  settled  in  Ford  county  in  1865.  He  was  married  in  1859  to  Miss 
Sarah  Gill. 

John  Karsten,  a  native  of  Germany,  where  he  worked  on  a  farm  for  twenty- 
four  years,  came  to  America  in  1866  and  settled  in  jMarshall  county,  Illinois. 
In  1876  he  came  to  Peach  Orchard  township.  In  1867  he  was  married  to 
Sophia  Hose.  He  became  the  owner  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  finely 
improved. 

A.  BucKHOLZ.  a  native  of  Germany,  who  came  to  this  country  in  1852.  work- 
ing at  various  places  for  a  number  of  years.  He  finally  settled  in  section  1,  in 
1867.  In  1855  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Funte,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children. 
He  became  the  owner  of  seven  liundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  in  this  townshi]i, 
with  excellent  improvements. 

Henry  Spellmeyer  was  born  in  Germany,  1840.  He  emigrated  to  America 
with  his  sister  in  1858,  first  settling  in  ]\Iarshall  county;  then,  in  1868,  came  to 
Peach  Orchard  township.  In  1868  he  married  ]\Iiss  Louisa  Steinman,  by  whom 
he  had  five  children. 

John  Tiiackery  was  born  in  England,  1834,  where  he  lived  until  1865. 
When  he  came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Putnam  coiuity,  Illinois,  when^  he 
lived  for  several  years.  He  then  came  to  Ford  county  and  located  in  this  town- 
ship. In  March,  1865,  he  married  Catharine  Pliillii)s,  by  whom  he  had  six 
children.  Mr  Thackery  became  the  owner  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres 
of  good  land  in  Peach  Orchard. 

William  D.  Spencer,  son  of  David  Spencer,  who  was  born  in  Vei'mont  in 
1811  and  came  to  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  in  1841,  and  bought  four  huiulred 
acres  of  land,  which  he  worked  several  years,  then  moved  to  Georgetown,  same 
county,  and  engaged  in  stock-raising,  which  he  followed  for  a  time.  In  the 
spring  of  1855  he  settled  in  Peach  Orchard.  He  died  in  1857.  Our  subject 
was  born  in  1855,  in  Georgetown,  Vermilion  county,  Illinois,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  this  township.  He  was  nuirried  to  Miss  Emma  J.  Tei-ry,  of  St.  Louis. 
Aft('i'\vni-d  ]\lr.   Spencer  prepared  himself  for  the  ministry. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  19:] 

Thomas  IVIcLaughlin  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland  in  1829.  He 
emigrated  to  America  in  1848,  when  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  La  Salle  connty, 
Illinois,  and  lived  there  for  six  years,  then  came  to  this  township.  lie  became 
the  owner  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  86,  one-half  mile  from  Melvin. 

George  F.  Forney  was  born  in  Putnam  county,  Illinois,  in  1845.  At  the; 
age  of  twenty-two  years  he  married  Eliza  S.  Allen,  of  Pennsylvania,  by  whom  he 
had  four  children.  lie  settled  in  Peach  Orchard  township  in  1870.  He  was 
town  clerk  for  three  years. 

Peter  Conniff  was  born  in  Ireland.  At  the  age  of  six  years  he  came  to 
America  with  his  mother  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  New  Jersey.  He  remained  in 
that  state  about  twenty  years,  then  came  to  Henry  county,  Illinois.  He  settled 
in  this  township  in  1857.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  Fourth  New  Jersey  Regi- 
ment and  was  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

David  Thompson  was  l)orn  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  in  1841.  In  1868 
he  enlisted  in  the  Seventh  Illinois  Volunteers.  He  settled  in  Ford  count.y 
in  1869,  on  section  23.      He  married  Margaret  Frazer  in  1865. 

James  Dixon  was  born  in  ]\Ianchester,  England,  in  1836.  In  1861  he 
enlisted  in  the  Seventeenth  Illinois  Volunteers  and  remained  in  the  service  until 
1863,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged  and  returned  to  Marshall  county, 
Illinois.  In  1867  he  married  Miss  Jane  E.  Hunt,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children. 
Patrick  Goggins,  a  native  of  the  Emerald  isle,  came  to  America  in  1846  antl 
first  settled  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois.  After  living  there  twelve  years,  he 
moved  to  Ford  county.  He  married  IMiss  Catharine  Clark  in  1863,  and  to  them 
were  born  three  children. 

W.  J.  Hunt  was  born  in  IMarshall  county,  Illinois,  in  1841.  He  remained 
there  twenty-one  years,  working  on  his  father's  farm,  then  moved  to  La  Salle 
county,  Illinois.  In  1861  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth  Illinois 
Regiment  and  was  in  the  service  several  years.  He  then  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  La  Salle  county,  where  he  remained  until  1872,  when  he  moved  to  Peach 
Orchard  township. 

John  M.  Thompson  was  born  in  Noble  county,  Ohio,  April,  1837.  He 
lived  there  several  years,  then  settled  in  Belmont  county  and  taught  school  for 
four  years;  also  attended  the  academy  at  Belmont.  In  1864  he  settled  in 
Grundy  county,  Illinois,  remaining  there  a  short  time,  then  moved  to  IMarshall 
county,  and  after  living  there  three  years  he  went  to  Woodford  county  and 
bought  a  farm  and  worked  it  for  four  years.  He  then  sold  out  and  came  to 
Peach  Orchard  township  in  the  fall  of  1872,  and  engaged  in  general  merchandis- 
ing.      He  soon  sold  out  to  his  brother  and  engaged  in  the  sale  of  agricultural 


194  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

iinplement.s  and  luiuber.       In  1861  lie  was  married  to  ]\Iis,s  Jane  Day,  of  Belmont 
county,  Ohio. 


SULLIVANT  TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  was  organized  September  9,  1867.  It  originally  formed  a 
part  of  Dix  township,  and  upon  a  petition  being  presented  to  the  board  of  super- 
visors at  their  September  meeting,  in  1867.  "to  create  a  new  town  out  of  that 
part  of  Dix,  to  be  known  as  Sullivant,"  they  granted  the  petition,  and  Sullivant 
township  was  formed.  This  township  is  six  miles  north  and  soulli  and  nine 
miles  east  and  west.  The  land  is  the  highest  in  the  state  between  Lake  iMiehigan 
and  the  Mississippi  river,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  map,  showing  that  many  streams 
have  their  source  in  this  part  of  the  state.      The  soil  is  of  good  quality. 

The  history  of  this  township  can  be  nothing  else  but  the  history  of  a  farm, 
for  that  is  what  it  was.  ]\Iost  of  the  land  in  this  township  was  entered  or  i)ur- 
chased  by  ^Michael  L.  Sullivant  during  1854.  who  improved  the  laud  and  operated 
it  as  an  innnense  corn  farm  up  to  1876,  when  he  disposed  of  it  to  Mr.  Iliram 
Sibley,  of  Rochester,  New  York.  This  was  undoul)tedly  the  largest  corn  farm 
in  the  world  under  one  man's  management.  He  was  a  leading  man  in  the 
township,  and  lived  in  a  beautiful  grove  called  Burr  Oaks,  near  the  center  of  the 
townshi]).  Afti^r  ]\Ir.  Sililev  took  possession  of  the  farm  he  rented  out  most  of 
the  land,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  his  renters,  erected  substantial  dwelling 
houses  on  nearly  every  c^uarter  section. 


SIBLEY. 

This  beautiful  village,  originally  named  Burr  Oaks,  is  situated  on  the 
Wabash,  St.  Louis  &  Pacific  Railroad.  The  original  town  of  Burr  Oaks  was 
surveyed  and  laid  out  by  John  R.  Lewis,  in  February,  1877,  for  ]M.  L.  Sullivant, 
in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  32.  In  1880.  Sibley's  addition  was  laid  off, 
and  the  name  changed  to  Sibley  to  conform  with  the  I'ailroad  station  and  llie 
postoffice.  But  few  buildings  had  been  erected  here  previous  to  1878.  when 
iNIr.  Si])ley  organized  a  system  of  improvt'ments,  and  a  nuiiiher  of  dwelling 
houses  were  erected,  a  hotel,  the  largest  and  best  iu  the  county  at  that  time,  a 
large  seed  barn,  flax  mill,  stores,  offices  and  numerous  other  buildings.  A  large 
commodious  grain  elevator  was  erected  by  Mr.  Sullivant. 

The  beautiful  schoolhouse.  which  is  the  ])ride  of  the  town,  was  erected  in 
1882,  at  a  cost  of  six  thousand  dollars. 


^^%J 


|ny;p^|^^g^gggrq^y7^^^^ 


.^^^^ 


IIISTOEY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  197 

Although  a  town  of  but  a  few  years'  growth,  the  enterprise  of  its  people  is 
shown  by  the  graded  streets,  good  sidewalks,  a  park  and  hundreds  of  trees. 


BRPLXTON  TOWNSHIP. 

This  township  was  at  one  time  a  part  of  Stockton  townshij),  the  latter  being 
organized  when  Ford  was  a  part  of  Vermilion  county,  and  at  that  time  com- 
prised the  present  townships  of  Rogers,  Mona.  Pella,  Brenton  and  Lyman. 

The  name  of  Stockton  was  changed  to  Brenton  March  7,  1864,  and  embraced 
the  townships  of  Lyman,  Brenton  and  Pella.  As  the  country  became  more 
thickly  settled,  Lyman  and  Pella  were  set  off,  leaving  the  present  township  of 
Brenton,  which  comprises  thirty-six  sections  of  land. 

In  1856,  John  R.  Lewis,  IMark  Parsons  and  S.  Standish  were  the  first  perma- 
nent settlers  of  the  township.  ]Mr.  Lewis  built  the  first  house  in  the  township, 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  section  22.  In  the  fall  of  1856,  Peter  Van  Antwerp, 
George  Benford.  W.  T.  Reed,  John  E.  Davis,  T.  W.  Pope,  Frederick  Chambers, 
the  Jeifreys  and  A.  J.  Bartlett  came.  In  1857,  came  the  Cross  and  IMcKinney 
families.  Ira  Z.  Condon,  W.  W.  Wicks,  Aaron  Sehofield  and  Conrad  Volp.  In 
1858,  Joseph  Davis,  L.  T.  Bishop,  Thomas  Hahn,  Jacob  Titus,  IMerritt  Free, 
Peter  Rouse  and  Benjamin  Ilobbis,  settled  here.  In  1860  came  William  L. 
Conrow.  "SI.  P.  Sherwood,  James  Free,  T.  Jones,  and  in  1863,  Jacob  Lippeneott, 
W.  S.  Thompson,  Henry  Patterson,  Robert  Wilson,  D.  E.  ^liddleton  and  Joseph 
Carpenter. 

The  settlei's  of  the  township  were  nearly  all  eastern  men. 

The  first  birth  in  Brenton  was  Hattie  B..  daughter  of  A.  J.  Bartlett,  on  the 
1-lth  of  June,  1857.  The  second  birth  was  a  son  of  John  R.  Lewis,  August  4; 
and,  August  26,  Mark  Parsons  was  blessed  with  a  son. 

The  first  death  was  Captain  ]\Iack,  wlio,  with  his  young  wife,  came  to  Illinois 
from  the  east  in  search  of  a  better  climate  for  his  health,  but,  growing  worse 
instead  of  better,  he  sold  out  his  property  to  W.  W.  Wicks  and  started  for  his 
eastern  home.  He  got  as  far  as  Onarga,  where  he  died  and  was  buried.  The 
first  marriage  in  the  new  settlement  was  in  1859,  between  Charles  Phelps  and 
Miss  ]\Iary  A.  Davis. 

The  first  school  was  started  by  John  R.  Lewis,  and  taught  by  IMiss  Annie 
E.  Ilobbis,  of  Onaraga,  who  remained  a  teacher  for  a  number  of  years. 

The  first  election  after  Brenton  was  organized  was  held  at  district  school- 
house  No.  1  (the  Wagner  school). 


198  HISTOKY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

There  were  regular  religious  meetings  held  at  settlers'  houses  every  Sun- 
da\',  being  conducted  principally  by  A.  IMcKinney,  Robert  Hall  and  Henry 
Atwood. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  those  who  went  from  the  Pan  Handle  to 
the  Civil  war  and  returned  safely:  A.  S.  Bavouse.  Fred  Foot,  Henry  Phelps, 
R.  A.  Pope,  Robert  Ferris,  Jacob  Brown,  Ed  Kent,  INIr.  Stoneback,  James 
Feeley,  H.  Eccleston,  D.  Kingsley,  Morris  Burt,  John  Haven,  Ed  Haven,  Albert 
Holmes,  B.  Lyman. 

Killed  or  missing,  Thomas  Hahn  and  Joseph  Law. 

The  first  schoolhouse  built  was  the  Wagner  schoolhouse,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  28. 

The  railroad  through  this  township  was  built  in  1857,  first  called  the  east- 
ern extension  of  the  Peoria  &  Oquawka  Railroad,  afterward  the  Logansport, 
Peoria  &  Burlington,  then  shortly  after  changed  to  the  Toleda,  Peoria  &  War- 
saw, and  now  the  Wabash,  St.  Louis  &  Pacific  Railroad.  It  runs  in  an  east 
and  west  direction  across  the  north  tier  of  sections  of  this  township. 


PIPER    CITY. 

Piper  City  is  the  principal  village  in  the  Pan  Handle,  and  the  third  village 
in  population  in  Ford  county.  It  was  laid  out  in  section  4,  Brenton  town- 
ship, by  H.  J.  Howe,  county  surveyor,  for  Dr.  William  A.  Piper,  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  and  Samuel  Cross,  of  Chicago,  in  1867.  The  village  lies 
on  both  sides  of  the  Wabash  Railroad. 

John  Allen  and  W.  C.  Jones  opened  the  first  store  in  the  new  village  in 
the  summer  of  1867. 

Soon  after  Dr.  Piper  and  J.  A.  IMontelius  opened  a  general  store.  The 
postoffice  was  established  in  John  R.  Lewis'  house,  and  he  was  appointed  first 
postmaster.  The  first  station  agent  was  John  Allen.  The  station  was  then 
called  New  Brenton.  The  United  Presbyterian  church  was  l)uilt  in  1869.  The 
next  one  erected  was  the  Presbyterian  in  1872.  The  Catholic  church  was  built 
in  1880,  and  the  Methodist  in  1881. 

Mrs.  McElhiney  taught  the  first  school  in  Piper  City  in  the  building  after- 
ward occupied  as  an  office  by  Montelius  &  Brother. 

The  Piper  City  Dairy  Association  was  incorporated  in  1881,  with  Joseph 
liiu'gcr,  i)resident;  J.  A.  Montelius,  secretary  and  treasurer;  E.  II.  Brooks, 
manager;  and  Joseph  Burger,  J.  A.  Montelius,  E.  II.  Brooks,  John  McKinney, 
Columbus  Jennings,  John  Clark  and  B.  F.  Church,  directors. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  199 

The  following  are  sketches  of  the  early  settlers  and  business  men  who  lived 
in  Brentoii  township : 

John  R.  Lewis  was  born  in  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  June  6,  1828, 
where  he  lived  until  April  16,  1850.  He  spent  his  childhood  years  upon  a 
farm  and  attending  school.  One  of  his  schoolmates  was  the  Hon.  A.  H.  Pres- 
(ott,  at  one  time  judge  of  Herkimer  county.  New  York.  Mr.  Lewis  taught 
school  several  winters,  and  then  came  west  in  1856,  and  settled  in  this  town- 
ship, being  the  first  permanent  settler.  INIark  Parsons  came  one  day  later.  ]Mr. 
Lewis  practically  sold  most  of  the  lands  in  Brenton  and  Pella  townships  as 
agent  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  lands.       He  was  the  first  justice  of  the 

peace,  first  police  magistrate,   third  supervisor  and  first  postmaster  of  I'iper 
City. 

The  second  permanent  settler  of  Brenton  was  Mark  Parsons,  who  was  l)()rn 
in  Bennington,  Vermont,  May  13,  1823,  where  he  lived  until  seventeen  years 
of  age,  working  on  a  farm  in  the  summer,  and  attending  school  during  the  win- 
ter. When  al)out  twenty-three  years  old,  he  married  Miss  Jane  E.  Crossett, 
and  with  his  young  wife,  moved  to  Will  county,  Illinois.  In  1856,  he  came  to 
Ford  county  and  settled  in  this  township.  He  built  his  house  on  the  south- 
west r(uarter  of  section  3-4. 

Archibald  McKinney  was  liorn  in  Ireland  Mny  2,  1802,  where  he  lived 
until  1848,  when  he  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  He 
worked  in  a  factory  there  for  ten  years.  In  1858,  he  came  to  Ford  county, 
settling  on  section  20  of  this  township.      Mr.  McKinney  was  married  in  1832. 

•  John  INIcKinney,  son  of  Archibald  McKinney,  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1833. 
He  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  in  1848.  Mr.  IMcKinney  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  and  worked  at  it  for  many  years.  When  Piper  City  was 
started,  he  moved  from  his  home  in  Brenton  township  and  went  into  the  lum- 
ber business,  and  in  course  of  time  started  a  hardware  store. 

William  Carpenter  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  February  22,  1811-  where  he 
lived  continuously  for  fifteen  years ;  then  moved  to  Herkimer  county.  New  York. 
Here  he  lived  until  1867 ;  then  moved  to  Ford  county,  and  settled  in  Brenton 
township.       In  1833  he  married  Ann  Eliza  Randall,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island. 

Abner  McLaughlin  came  to  this  township  in  1861,  and  settled  on  section  5, 
In  1865  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss  IMargaret  IMcKinney,  daughter  of 
Archibald  McKinney,  an  old  settler  of  this  township.  I\Ir.  McLaughlin  used 
to  teach  school  in  winter  and  work  on  his  farm  in  the  sunnner.  He  was  school 
treasurer  for  many  years,  and  always  took  an  active  interest  in  all  ])ublic 
enterprises. 


200  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Samuel  D.  Culbertson,  physician  and  surfreon.  was  born  in  Cumberland 
county.  Pennsylvania.  September  5.  1839.  Here  he  lived  for  twelve  years, 
attending-  school  and  helping  on  a  farm.  When  eighteen  years  old.  he  began 
teaching  school,  and  taught  until  the  Civil  war  broke  out.  when  he  joined  the 
army.  After  the  war,  he  began  the  stud^'  of  medicine,  and  in  1866  graduated 
from  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadeljihia.  He  came  to  Piper  City 
in  1867,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  in  which  he  met  with 
success.  He  also  engaged  in  the  drug  business.  Dr.  Cul])ertson  was  married 
in  1866  to  ]\Iiss  Clara  Kate  Culver. 

Joseph  Burger  was  born  in  Baden,  German\-.  He  came  to  this  county  in 
1868,  settling  on  section  2,  this  township. 

John  C.  Culver  was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  May, 
184:8.  In  1865,  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  thence  to  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and  to 
the  Indian  territory,  riding  pony  express  from  Fort  Wallis  to  Denver;  then 
was  government  scout  through  southern  Kansas,  Indian  Territory  and  New 
Mexico.  He  served  under  William  F.  Cody  (Buffalo  Bill)  he  being  the  chief 
scout.  After  being  there  several  years,  he  came  back  and  settled  in  Piper 
City,  and  went  into  the  drug  business.  In  1880  he  sold  out  and  engaged  in 
the  grain  business  in  this  village.  ]Mr.  Culver  was  coroner  of  Ford  county 
for  two  years.       In  1872,  he  married  Clara  D.  Fairley.  of  Lyman  township. 

James  P.  ]\IcDanel  was  born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until 
ten  years  old;  then  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Illinois.  In  1862.  he  married 
Miss  Kate  Huddleson,  of  Randolph  county.  Illinois.  When  he  came  to  Piper 
City,  he  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  furniture  business.  He  soon  sold  out, 
and  began  farming  and  teaching.       He  was  town  clerk  for  many  years. 

Henry  Allnutt,  a  native  of  England,  was  publisher  and  proprietor  of  the 
Piper  City  Advertiser.  He  came  to  Ford  county,  and  located  on  a  farm  in 
Pella  township  in  1869.  In  1873  he  moved  to  town,  and  soon  started  the 
Advertiser.      He  married  Adda,  daughter  of  Joseph  Carpenter. 

Ephrlvm  H.  Brooks  was  born  in  Steuben  county,  New  York,  in  1837,  where 
he  lived  for  eleven  years;  then  moved  to  Livingston  county.  New  York,  where 
he  attended  school  and  helped  in  his  father's  store  until  1857,  when  he  came 
to  Woodford  county.  Illinois.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  settled  in  Brenton 
township,  section  6,  and  began  farming.  When  lie  came  to  Pipci-  City  he 
began  work  in  the  creamery,  and  afterwartl  was  manager.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Russell  in  1868. 

Conrad  Rohrback,  a  native  of  Germany,  where  he  was  born  February  27» 
1821.       He  lived  there  until  thirteen  vears  old.  then  came  to  this  countrv  and 


AT     PIPER   CITY 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  203 

settled  in  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  for  about  fifteen  years. 
In  1859,  ho  located  on  section  26,  Brenton  township.  In  1843  he  married  Annie 
M-dv  Dinuledine. 

James  McBride,  farmer,  was  horn  in  Ireland  in  1842;  soon  after,  he  came 
with  his  parents  to  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  until  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  war.  when  he  enlisted  and  served  until  its  close.  He  was  honorably 
discharged  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  returned  to  the  peaceful 
pursuits  of  a  farmer's  life.  In  the  spring  of  1869  he  came  to  Ford  county, 
and  settled  on  section  31,  on  a  fine  farm  of  four  hundred  acres.  In  1869  he 
married  Miss  Clara  Strank. 

Michael  Cross  was  l)orn  in  England  in  1830.  He  remained  there  for 
twenty-four  years,  working  at  the  blacksmith  trade.  In  1854  he  came  to 
America,  and  two  years  later  settled  in  this  township,  residing  on  section  18. 
lie  was  married  in  1867  to  Catharine  Mitchinson. 

AViLLiAM  Corey,  stock-raiser  and  farmer,  was  born  in  Washington  county, 
Rhode  Island,  in  1824.  He  came  to  La  Salle  county  in  1865,  and  to  Brenton 
township  in  1867,  and  settled  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  17.  In  1859 
he  married  ]\Iiss  Ruth  Wilcox. 

Thomas  Cue,  a  native  of  England,  where  he  was  born  August  12,  1836. 
In  1853  he  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  Woodford  county,  Illinois.  He 
lived  there  until  1870,  when  he  came  and  settled  in  Brenton  township.  In 
1871  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Victoria  Arrowsmith. 

John  C.  Steen  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio,  in  1837.  In  1863  he 
"moved  to  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  several  years ;  then  moved 
to  Chatsworth,  and  in  1873  came  to  Brenton  township,  and  settled  on  section  15. 

John  Goodman  w^as  born  in  Huntingshire,  England,  July,  1818.  He  came 
to  this  country  in  1852?  and  settled  in  Erie  county,  Ohio ;  after  living  there  four 
years,  he  moved  to  Ford  county,  Illinois,  and  settled  on  section  30.  In  1852, 
he  married  Sarah  Bellamy,  of  England. 


banks. 

John  A.  Montelius  established  his  bank  in  Piper  City  in  1870.  The  per- 
sonnel of  the  bank's  directory  was  as  follows,  with  no  change  up  to  this  time: 
John  A.  Montelius,  John  IMcKinney,  J.  K.  Montelius,  R.  A.  Jennings,  James 
McBride,  J.  A.  Cook,  D.  A.  Boal,  Abner  IMcLaughlin,  W.  0.  IMcKinney.  Capi- 
tal, fifty  thousand  dollars ;  surplus,  ten  thousand  dollars. 


204  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

J.  C.  Ciilbertson  established  his  bank  in  1901.  Capital,  fifteen  thousand 
dollars. 

Recently,  a  new  graded  school  building  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  twelve 
thousand  dollars. 

Piper  City  has  one  liotel,  much  praised  by  the  traveling  public.  The  host 
is  A.  C.  :\liller. 

In  1891  the  electric  light  plant  was  ])uilt  l)y  A.  A.  Blair.  It  is  now  t)wned 
and  conducted  by  Charles  and  David  Wliite. 

The  Piper  City  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  got  its  start  from  a 
private  line.  It  now  covers  the  county,  and  has  connections  with  the  county 
seat. 

LODGES. 

Piper  Lodge,  No.  608,  A.  F.  &  A.  I\I. ;  I.  0.  0.  F.,  Piper  Lodge,  No.  471 ; 
M.  W.  A.,  Piper  City  Camp,  No.  718,  instituted  in  1888. 


CHURCHES. 

Pil)er  City  has  four  churches:       United  Presbyterian,  First  M.  E.  church. 
Catholic  and  German  congregation. 


RAILROADS. 

The  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Westei-n  Raili'oad  is  Piper  City's  means  of  ti'ansport- 
ing  its  products. 

J.  1).  Tieken,  C.  S.  INIellen  and  S.  D.  Culbertson  are  the  practicing  physi- 
cians of  Piper  City. 

■    Piper  City  has  one  lawyer  and  his  name  is  M.  H.  Scott. 


REMINISCENCES. 

-loliii  II.  Lewis,  in  liis  History  of  tlie  I'an  Handle  of  Ford  County,  has 
recoi'ded  nnich  of  interest,  and  we  make  room  for  scn'eral  extracts: 

On  or  about  tlie  1st  of  September,  1856,  a  prairie  fire  was  started  in  tlie 
south  part  of  what  is  now  known  as  Ford  county,  and  tlie  wind  being  from 
the  south  drove  the  fire  ovei-  the  count  I'v  at  a  frightful  speed,  ])urning  all  the 
prairie  lying  west  of  the    Illinois  Central  Railroad  track  to  what  was  known 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  205 

as  Indian  Timber,  and  as  far  north  as  the  Kankakee  river  before  it  could  be 
stopped.  As  I  said,  the  season  was  very  dry,  and  the  low  sloughs  that  grew 
a  very  fair  ({uality  of  grass  that  year,  continued  to  burn  for  fully  three  months, 
or  until  the  ground  froze  up  in  the  fall.  The  lands  that  were  so  badly  burned 
still  show  the  effects  of  the  fire.  Some  of  these  places  came  directly  under  the 
writer's  observation,  and  were  he  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  now,  he 
could  show  places  in  swamps  on  the  north  half  of  section  7,  south  half  of  sec- 
tion 6,  in  township  25  north,  range  9  east,  and  in  a  small  slough  in  the  south 
half  of  southwest  quarter  of  section  21,  township  26  north,  also  in  sloughs  that 
lie  south  and  west  of  Oliver's  Grove,  and  near  what  was  called  Corn  Grove, 
wliicli  before  the  fire  was  smooth,  even  sloughs,  but  are  now  ponds  and  lakes  of 
water.  The  cause  of  this  is  that  the  tall  grass,  that  at  that  time  grew  in  the 
sloughs,  took  fire,  and  having  so  much  body,  burned  into  the  ground  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  settled  into  basins.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Turtle 
pond,  lying  south  of  Oliver's  Grove,  and  Corn  Grove  pond,  lying  west  of  Tur- 
tle pond.  The  timber  in  Oliver's  Grove,  especially  the  down  timber,  was  nearly 
all  destroyed,  and  it  was  considered  that  the  loss  in  wood  that  ]\Ir.  Oliver  sus- 
tained must  have  run  into  the  thousands  of  cords.  Going  farther  north  to 
what  is  now  known  as  Vermilion  swamp,  the  effects  of  the  fire  may  still  be 
found.  Before  the  fire,  all  that  country  from  the  county  line  of  Ford  and 
Iro(iuois  counties,  in  township  28  north,  range  9  and  10  east,  was  a  large 
slough,  which  grew  coarse  but  good  grass,  not  canebrake  as  it  does  now.  In 
this  place  the  fire  burned  holes  into  the  ground  fully  three  feet  deep  and  for 
several  years  after  no  grass  or  anything  green  grew  there. 

Before  the  fire,  large  herds  of  deer  could  be  seen  grazing  quietly  on  the 
prairies,  but  these  beautiful  animals  were  now  driven  to  other  localities  and 
deer  meat  was  scarce. 

The  presidential  election  in  the  fall  of  1856  caused  very  little  excitement 
in  our  settlement.  The  voting  place  was  full  twenty-five  miles  distant  at 
Prairie  City,  now  Paxton,  and  the  few  settlers  who  were  eligible  to  vote  did 
not  take  the  trouble  to  go  to  the  polls.  At  that  time  the  only  voters  in  the 
Pan  Handle  were  M.  Parsons,  Dr.  Marshall,  John  R.  Lewis,  T.  W.  Pope,  ]\I. 
Faddling,  Dr.  DeNormandy. 

This  spring  was  noted  for  the  large  influx  of  new  settlers,  and  carpenters 
who  came  on  to  build  their  homes  for  them,  among  the  latter  I  remember 
Elisha  and  Nathaniel  Sherman,  of  Onarga,  and  Mr.  Needham.  These  three  had 
others  helping  them,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  they  found  boarding  places. 
Among  the  first  of  the  new  settlers  who  came  were  ]\Iessrs.  Samuel  and  Michael 


206  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUxXTY 

Cross.  These  beyan  i)nttinu'  up  a  lioiise  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  4,  township  26,  "Sir.  Needham  superintending  the 
work.  They  boarded  with  John  R.  Lewis  and  traveled  four  miles  morning 
and  evening  to  and  from  their  work.  Soon  after  these  came,  wliicli  ^\•as  in 
April,  it  was  discovered  that  a  liouse  was  being  bnilt  on  the  northeast  quarter 
of  the  northeast  ciuarter  of  section  20  for  a  family  from  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, named  JMcKinney.  The  next  house  to  be  bnilt  was  for  Ira  Z.  Congdon 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  section  32.  ]\Ir.  Congdon  came  from  near  New 
London,  Connecticut,  along  M^ith  what  was  known  as  the  Connecticut  settlers, 
mention  of  whom  will  be  made  hereafter.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Mr.  Congdon, 
on  the  same  section,  Wallace  W.  Wicks  commenced  improving  a  farm,  but  did 
not  build  on  it.  Aaron  Scofield  built  on  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  30,  and  at  the  same  time  Conrad  Volp  put  up  a  house  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  10.  lie  came  from  near  Albany,  New  York,  and 
brought  with  him  his  three  youngest  sons,  Horace,  George  and  Christopher,  the 
oldest  son,  Charles,  having  come  out  the  summer  before  and  taken  up  his  abode 
with  A.  J.  Bartlett. 

All  these  settlers  were  near  each  other,  but  a  few  began  to  arrive  and  take 
up  land  in  the  northern  townships,  which  seemed  to  us  at  that  time  a  long  way 
off.  The  first  of  these  was  Robert  Hall,  who  came  from  New  York  state.  Ho 
had  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  from  the  I.  C.  Railroad  Company,  and 
Iniilt  his  house  on  the  southwest  corner  of  section  28,  township  27,  and  soon 
after  a  young  man  from  near  Boston,  Massachusetts,  put  in  an  appearance,  and 
commenced  to  build  a  small  house  on  section  22.  He  had  no  family  and  kept 
"bach."  His  name  was  Henry  Atwood.  A  little  later  in  the  summer  Joseph 
Davis,  from  Ohio,  settled  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  6,  in  township  26.  Most  of  these  settlers  arrived  in  time  to  break  up 
some  land  and  put  it  into  corn. 

I  will  now  go  back  to  the  time  the  Connecticut  settlement  was  organized. 

During  the  winter  of  1855-56  an  organization  was  effected  by  a  few  citi- 
zens in  and  around  New  Loiulon  in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  under  tlie  name 
of  the  Woi'king  Man's  Settlement  Association,  Avith  the  following  named  per- 
sons as  members : 

W.  A.  Babcock,  president;  R.  A.  Ilungerford,  secretary;  S.  K.  IMarston, 
treasurer;  M.  E.  Morgan,  E.  Marston,  B.  F.  Field,  Urbane  Havens,  Ira  Z.  Cong- 
don, R.  R.  Piersons,  Rev.  P.  J.  Williams,  George  B.  Clark,  J.  II.  Lester,  S.  P. 
Avery,  W.  H.  Bently,  Sidney  A.  Morgan,  Theophilus  Morgan,  B.  N.  Marston, 
William  Applery,  James  S  Maxon,  C.  A.  Marston,  E.  F.  Havens,  W.  S.  Lar- 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  207 

kill,  Gil  R.  Laplace,  D.  T.  Hutchinson,  James  Miller,  Robert  Ecclestoii,  U.  S-. 
Bossie,  II.  C.  Dennis,  E.  C.  Morgan,  John  Isham. 

Ill  September,  1856,  the  first  permanent  settlers  belonging  to  the  colony 
arrived,  among  them  being  S.  K.  Marston,  E.  F.  Havens,  George  Clark,  M.  E. 
Morgan,  S.  P.  Averj^,  T.  and  A.  Morgan,  D.  T.  Hutchinson,  R.  Eccleston  and 
R.  R.  Piersons.  While  passing  through  Chicago,  they  purchased  one  hundred 
thousand  feet  of  lumber  for  building  purposes,  and  had  it  shipped  to  Onarga, 
to  which  place  they  were  all  bound. 

In  April  and  INIay,  1857,  all  these  settlers  moved  onto  their  lands  in  the 
Pan  Handle,  and  began  making  improvements. 

Some  time  in  June  it  was  suggested  by  E.  F.  Havens  that  we  all  take 
baskets  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  go  to  School  Section  Grove,  have  a  good  time,  and 
properly  celebrate  the  birthday  of  our  national  liberty.  All  were  pleased  with 
the  idea,  and  each  one  did  his  or  her  best  to  make  it  a  success. 

The  eventful  day  at  last  arrived,  and  we  all  assembled  at  the  grove.  When 
the  baskets  were  opened,  ]\Irs.  F.  M.  Chenney  created  cpiite  a  sensation  by  pro- 
ducing an  immense  pan  of  baked  pork  and  beans.  Others  brought  roast  tur- 
key, chickens,  frosted  cakes  and  other  delicacies,  but  all  these  fine  dishes  were 
given  the  cold  shoulder,  each  one  longing  for  a  dish  of  the  dear  old  familiar 
homelv,  baked  beans. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  ten  persons  present,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  every  one  seemed  surprised  that  there  were  so  many  people  near 
them,  and  rejoiced  in  the  feeling  that  they  were  not  alone  in  the  boundless 
wilderness. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year,  the  T.  P.  &  W.  railroad  was  built  through  the 
Pan  Handle,  the  line  being  located  near  the  north  edge  of  township  26,  run- 
ning almost  due  east  and  west,  and  a  long  side  track  was  laid  on  the  north 
half  of  section  2.  At  this  time,  there  were  no  settlers  near  the  railroad,  and 
a  little  to  the  west  of  the  side  track  there  was  a  big  slough  that  completely 
cut  ofl:'  all  communication  from  the  west.  East  of  the  side  track,  there  were 
no  settlers  within  the  boundary  of  the  Pan  Handle.  The  motive  of  the  rail- 
way compan}^  in  building  the  side  track  in  such  a  place  was  beyond  the  com- 
prehension of  any  of  the  settlers,  but  it  was  soon  learned  that  there  was  to  bo 
a  town  there  called  Brenton,  now  Piper  City. 

There  were  regular  meetings  and  Sabbath  schools  at  the  residence  of  some 
one  of  the  settlers  in  town  26  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  this  year.  These 
meetings  were  principally  conducted  by  Mr.  McKinney,  Robert  Hall  and  Henry 
Atwood.      ]\Ir.  Hall  was  sui)erintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school,  and  was  a  faith- 


208  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COITNTY 

fill  worker.  The  houses  where  services  were  held  were  A.  IMcKinney 's,  R. 
Hall's,  J.  E.  Davis',  Dr.  Elias  T.  Hahn's  and  A.  J.  Bartlett's.  The  singing 
was  led  by  M.  Cross,  with  a  flute.  The  meetings  were  well  attended,  and  I 
believe  much  good  was  done  by  them. 

In  township  25,  meetings  were  held  at  the  homes  of  F.  M.  Wyman,  S.  K. 
]\rarston  and  ]\Ir.  Lyman,  until  the  new  sehoolhouse  was  built,  of  which  I  shall 
speak  hereafter.  These  meetings  were  noted  for  the  excellent  singing,  in  which 
^Ir.  and  Mrs.  ]\Iarston  took  an  active  interest,  both  being  fine  musicians. 

At  all  these  meetings  no  sect  or  ism  was  recognized.  The  people  assem- 
bled to  worship  God,  and  few  eared  what  particular  denomination  his  neighbor 
belonged  to. 

At  this  time  the  early  settlers  were  nuich  concerned  about  money  matters. 
The  money  in  circulation  was  in  the  shape  of  bank  bills,  or  notes,  as  they  were 
called.  Many  of  the  banks  had  no  money  with  which  to  redeem  their  notes 
and  when  this  fact  became  known,  of  course  the  notes  depreciated  in  value,  and 
many  persons  lost  considerable  sums  of  money  from  this  cause.  In  fact,  no 
one  knew  whether  the  notes  he  held  were  good  for  anything  or  not. 

The  winter  of  1857-58  was  rather  unsteady.  There  was  not  much  frost, 
and  the  snow  that  occasionally  fell  in  great  quantities  soon  thawed  off.  The 
roads  were  about  half  frozen,  which  made  hauling  wood  for  fuel  an  impossi- 
bility and  many  of  the  settlers  got  badly  discouraged. 

At  this  time  tea  and  coffee  were  almost  unknown  among  the  settlers.  In 
fact  the  only  coffee  used  was  made  out  of  browned  corn,  sweetened  with  a 
kind  of  rough  molasses  made  from  sorghum.  This  w^as  first  introduced  bv 
Mark  Parsons  in  the  spring  of  1857,  at  which  time  he  received  from  Mr.  J.  O. 
Norton,  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  two  or  three  packages  of  the 
seed.  This  he  sowed,  carefully  harvesting  the  seeds  produced  from  it,  and 
making  the  juice  from  the  stalk  into  molasses. 

The  Pan  Handle  was  at  this  time  infested  with  wolves  and  badgers.  They 
abounded  mostly  in  township  27,  where  they  seemed  to  make  their  headquar- 
tei's.  The  badgers  were  most  frefpiently  found  on  section  11,  where  there  is 
a  long  sand  ridge  known  as  ]\Iount  Thunder,  and  to  this  point  hunters  fre- 
([uently  went,  and  a  number  of  these  animals  were  killed. 

The  winter  of  1859-60  was  dry  and  cold,  not  much  snow  fell,  ami  the  ct)rn 
which  was  light,  was  gathered  before  the  ground  froze,  and  a  ((uantity  of  fall 
ph)wing  was  done. 

This  winter  surprise  parties  became  <|uit('  fashionnl)]e,  and  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  settlers  lived  long  distances  apart,  were  well  attended.  Socia- 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  200 

bles  were  also  in  order,  and  a  company  often  came  over  from  Onarga,  bringing 
good  music  with  them. 

We  have  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  uneventful  years  in  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  Pan  Handle,  and  of  1860  there  is  little  to  record. 

Spring  commenced  early,  and  the  small  grain  was  mostly  in  by  the  end 
of  March.  Fine  rains  set  in  in  April,  and  everything  was  lovely.  It  will 
be  remembered  by  the  first  settlers  that  the  ground  s(iuirrels  were  very  annoy- 
ing this  year.  They  would  follow  the  planter,  and  i-oot  tiu'  corn  out  of  the  hills 
from  one  end  of  the  field  to  tlie  other. 

The  principal  trading  point  of  the  settlers  north  of  the  south  line  of  town 
26  was  Chatsworth,  and  all  south  of  this  line  went  to  Onarga. 

Regular  religious  services  were  held  in  the  IVIarston  schoolhouse,  in  town 
25,  every  Sabbath,  conducted  by  ]\Ir.  Foster  and  Mr.  Needham,  one  on  one  Sun- 
day and  the  other  on  the  next.  The  Sabbath  school  was  conducted  with  Saul 
C.  Bnrt  as  superintendent,  and  G.  B.  Winters  as  teacher  of  the  Bible  class, 
and  S.  K.  I^Iarston  of  the  other  scholars.  This  school  was  noted  for  its  Bible 
discussions,  conducted  principally  by  Messrs.  Winters,  and  Wyman,  and  some- 
times by  S.  C.  Burt. 

The  Sunday  school  in  the  northern  township  was  held  at  the  homes  of  A. 
McKinney,  Robert  Hall  and  a  few  other  houses.  ]\Ir.  Hall  was  superintendent 
and  A.  McKinney  teacher  of  the  Bible  class.  INIr.  Hall  was  an  active  worker 
in  the  Sabbath  school,  and  taught  one  of  the  younger  classes. 

As  a  rule,  Sunday  was  strictly  observed  by  the  entire  settlement,  and  it 
was  a  rare  thing  to  see  any  one  doing  any  work  on  that  day. 

This  year,  1860,  the  money  in  the  county  began  to  fail.  The  collectors 
of  the  different  townships  had  been  taking  the  Illinois  bank's  shinplaster  bills, 
and  when  they  came  to  settle  with  the  auditor,  they  found  that  nothing  but 
gold  would  be  accepted,  and  the  consequence  was  that  the  school  funds  were 
greatly  reduced.  Before  the  collectors  began  their  work,  the  Ijoard  of  super- 
visors had  ordered  that  the  moneys  of  certain  l)anks  named  should  be  accepted 
in  payment,  but  before  the  day  of  settlement  arrived,  these  banlcs  had  sus- 
pended, and  the  money  was  worthless. 

Upon  the  settlement  of  the  collectors,  the  board  of  supervisors  convened 
and  caused  the  deficiency  to  be  properly  proportioned  among  the  different  funds 
as  fairly  as  possible. 

This  fall,  the  price  of  all  kinds  of  country  produce  went  away  down.  Oats 
sold  for  seven  or  eight  cents  per  l)ushel,  spring  wheat  for  from  thirty  to  forty 
cents,  good  dressed  hogs  for  from  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  to  two  dollars  per 


210  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

one  hundred  pounds,  and  everything  else  tliat  farmers  had  to  sell  was  down 
in  the  same  way. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  names  of  those  who  went  from  the  Pan  Handle 
to  fight  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  returned  safely:  A.  S.  Bavwse, 
Fred  Foot,  Henry  Phelps,  R.  A.  Pope,  Rob  Ferris,  Jacob  Brown,  Ed  Kent,  JNFr. 
Stoneback,  James  Feeley,  H.  Eccleston,  D.  Kingsley,  j\Iorris  Burt,  John  Hav- 
ens, Ed  Havens,  Albert  Holmes  and  S.  B.  Lyman. 

Killed  or  missing,  Thomas  Hahn,  Joseph  Law. 

Some  of  those  enlisted  in  Company  F.  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  Infantry, 
under  Captain  R.  W.  Andrews,  others  went  into  the  cavalry  in  Comjoany  ]\I, 
Ninth  Regiment,  Captain  E.  R.  Knight.  All  who  went  from  the  Pan  Handle 
in  these  companies,  were  credited  to  Iroquois  county,  as  residents  from  that 
point. 

I  must  now  go  back  to  1858  and  give  your  readers  an  account  of  how  we 
that  year  celebrated  the  Fourth  of  July  in  Beset  Grove : 

About  four  hundred  people  were  present,  and  we  had  a  grand  good  time. 
Addresses  Avere  delivered  by  E.  L.  Gibson.  G.  B.  Winter,  G.  II.  Thompson  and 
other  local  talent.  The  Prairie  Glee  Club,  led  by  S.  K.  INIarston.  discoursed 
excellent  music,  and  Seth  Turner,  the  captain  of  S.  K.  IMarston  's  ox  team,  helped 
to  enthuse  us  with  his  rhymes. 

This  season  (1864)  the  price  of  corn  and  other  products  ran  up  pretty 
high.  Corn  was  sold  for  sixty  cents  per  bushel,  and  some  farmers  who  held 
theirs  over,  got  as  much  as  eighty-five  cents.  Oats  sold  for  from  forty  to 
fifty  cents  per  bushel,  and  barley  ran  up  to  two  and  a  half  dollars.  This 
year,  Peter  Van  Antwerp  had  sowed  quite  a  large  patch  of  barley,  and  raised 
sixty  bushels  to  the  acre.       This  he  sold  for  two  and  a  half  dollars  per  l)ushel. 

Rev.  Charles  Granger,  of  Button  township,  writes:  "The  writer  and  a 
few  others  organized  what  is  now  called  the  Congregational  Church  of  Christ 
at  Paxton,  a  few  months  after  its  organization,  at  a  village  called  Prospect  City. 
The  church  was  named  the  Union  Church  of  Christ  of  the  Middle  Fork  of  the 
Vermilion  river.  With  that  name  the  church  assisted  in  organizing  and  joined 
the  Illinois  Central  East  A.ssociation  of  Congregational  INIinisters.  AYithin  a 
year  after  its  organization,  the  writer  (the  first  minister  of  the  church)  insti- 
tuted a  series  of  religious  meetings,  which  llic  h(»a(l  of  the  church  approved  by 
a  powerful  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  After  laboring  about  four  yeai-s, 
the  writer  gave  up  the  charge  because  of  ill  health.  Sliortly  thereafter,  the 
church  changed  its  name  to  Congregational.       Although  the  Methodists  liad  a 


REV.  GEORGE   SCHLASSER,  PIONEER,  PAXTOX 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  213 

class  and  week  day  preaching,  the  Union  church  instituted  the  first  regular 
Sabbath  preaching. ' ' 

111  IMay,  1854,  Robei't  Blaekstock,  journeying  from  his  home  in  Indiana 
westward,  passed  through  what*  is  now  Ford  county,  and  found  a  IMethodist 
Episcopal  society  at  Trickel  Grove. 

Services  were  held  in  John  Dopps'  log  cabin,  which  afterward  became  the 
"William  Walker  homestead,  in  Button  township.  On  careful  inquiry,  he  found 
this  to  be  the  first  and  at  that  time  the  only  IMethodist  Episcopal  society  in  the 
present  county  of  Ford.  It  was  organized  in  1848,  being  the  northwest 
appointment  of  the  Danville  circuit.  A  history  of  the  Methodist  (ihurch 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  INlany  of  the  facts,  especially  as  to  early 
events,  were  furnished  by  Mr.  Blaekstock. 

It  is  related  of  Rev.  W.  H.  H.  Moore,  who  was  on  this  circuit  in  1855, 
that  a  Yankee  clock  peddler,  passing  through  this  new  settlement,  had  stopped 
over  night  at  a  house  at  Trickel  Grove,  where  religious  services  were  to  be  held 
the  following  day.  Having  displayed  his  clocks  in  the  largest  room,  and  to 
show  their  timekeeping  qualities  had  carefully  wound  and  set  them.  When 
the  preacher  was  in  the  midst  of  his  sermon,  the  services  l)(Mng  held  in  the 
clock  room,  these  clocks  began  their  work  of  noting  the  hour  of  twelve.  All 
the  fervor  and  eloquence  of  the  frontier  itinerant  were  not  sufficient  to  hold  the 
attention  of  his  congregation,  and  it  is  feared  that  tlie  labors  of  that  day  were 
in  vain. 

It  has  been  said  that  in  1862  tlie  first  Sunday  school  convention  for  Ford 
and  Iroquois  counties  was  held  on  a  Sabbath  day  in  the  freight  depot  at  Loda. 
The  active  participants  were  the  resident  ministers  of  Paxton  and  Loda,  Mr. 
Weaver,  Mr.  Search  and  others. 

Some  two  years  later,  a  similar  convention  was  held  at  the  courthouse  in 
Paxton. 

We  arC'  indebted  to  Edgar  N.  Stevens  for  the  following  items  compiled 
from  the  files  of  the  Paxton  Record: 

The  first  numl)er  of  the  Paxton  Record  was  published  February  9,  1865, 
by  N.  E.  Stevens,  with  D.  S.  Crandall  associate  editor.  The  office  was  in  a 
building  which  was  a  part  of  the  residence  of  John  McMurray,  just  south  of  the 
old  Patton  block.  The  building  was  small  and  the  office  unpretentious,  but  of 
ample  size  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  town.  It  has  grown  steadily  ever  since, 
keeping  pace  with  the  demand  for  good  work  and  experienced  workmen. 

Among  the  first  items  of  interest  we  notice  was  this:  About  the  first  of 
]\Iarch,  1865,  the  legi.slature  passed  an  act  incorporating  the  town  of  Paxton. 


214  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY      • 

Oh  Thursday,  May  4,  of  the  same  year,  the  mammoth  grain  warehouse  of 
Buck  &  Hall  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  loss  was  fourteen  thousand  dollars; 
insurance  seven  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars. 

In  the  spring  of  1865  the  town  was  in  a  prosperous  condition  and  many 
new  buildings  were  erected,  among  them  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  the 
basement  of  which  was  used  for  a  young  ladies'  seminary,  conducted  b.y  Mrs. 
Buckland.  In  June  of  that  year,  there  were  the  following  number  of  business 
houses  in  the  town :  Five  dry  goods  and  groceries,  three  grocery  stores,  one 
warehouse,  one  liouringmill,  two  lumberyards,  two  drug  stores,  one  print- 
ing office,  one  dentist,  five  physicians,  four  lawyers,  one  hardware  store,  one 
land  agency,  one  furniture  warehouse,  one  seeding  machine  manufactory,  two 
hotels,  one  agricultural  warehouse,  one  express  office,  one  watchmaker,  one  meat 
market,  one  photograph  gallery,  one  nursery,  two  shoe,  four  blacksmitli.  two 
wagons,  one  gunsmith,  two  carpenter  and  one  paint  shops,  one  saddler\',  one 
millinery,  one  sulky  cultivator  works,  one  real-estate  agency,  two  tobacconists, 
one  furniture  store,  one  bakery  and  one  plow  factory. 

About  this  time  the  Meharry  church,  four  miles  west  of  town,  was  built  by 
the  farmers. 

Tlie  corner  stone  of  the  Congregational  church  was  laid  with  appropriate 
ceremonies,  August  18,  1865. 

The  4th  of  July,  1865,  was  celebrated  at  Ten  Mile  Grove,  by  a  large  con- 
course of  citizens  and  Sunday  school  children.  There  was  also  a  celebration 
at  Trickel  Grove. 

R.  S.  Buckland,  while  on  a  tour  of  observation  in  Missouri,  June  18,  1865, 
accidentally  shot  himself.  His  remains  were  buried  in  the  old  cemetery.  He 
was  a  prominent  and  enterprising  citizen  of  Paxton. 

A  division  of  the  organization  known  as  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
was  formed  at  Paxton  in  October,  1866. 

The  United  Presbyterian  church,  a  large  edifice  capable  of  acc'ommodating 
six  hundred  persons,  was  dedicated  March  11,  1867. 

Pells'  block,  a  three-story  brick  buihling  witli  fifty  feet  front,  was  com- 
pleted in  the  summer  of  1867.  It  was  built  by  W.  H.  Pells,  and  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  the  year  1874. 

On  the  6tli  of  November,  1867,  the  citizens,  legal  voters  of  Ford  county, 
gave  an  overwhelming  majority  in  favor  of  taking  one  Inuidred  and  twelve 
thousand  dollars  stock  in  the  Lafayette,  Bloomington  &  Mississipi)i  Railway. 

Clark's  block,  an  elegant  three-story  brick  building,  fifty  by  eighty  feet,  and 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  215 

forty-five  feet  in  height,  was  finished  in  the  fall  of  1867.  R.  Clark,  of  Paxton, 
was  the  owner. 

The  fall  of  1867  was  remarkable  for  the  heavy  sales  of  real  estate  made 
by  local  dealers.  One  firm  in  Paxton  sold  nine  thousand  acres  within  thirty 
days.  The  sales  of  the  same  firm,  for  the  five  weeks  ending  December  5,  aggre- 
gated fourteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  three  acres. 

The  number  of  inlial)itants  added  to  the  county  during  the  year  ending 
July  1,  1867,  was  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty. 

The  first  seven  days  of  May,  1868,  will  long  l)e  remembered  on  account  of 
the  unprecedented  amount  of  rain.  The  meteorological  report  shows  that  the 
amount  was  three  and  fifty-seven  hundredths  inches,  almost  as  much  as  for  any 
month  during  the  preceding  four  months.  The  storms  were  accompanied  by 
thunder  aiul  lightning,  the  pyrotechnic  display  l)eing  most  beautiful  and 
magnificent. 

A  hurricane  passed  over  Paxton  Tuesday,  May  26,  1868,  stripping  the  stee- 
ple from  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  This  was  the  finest  church  edifice 
in  the  city,  and  the  spire  was  beautifully  proportioned  to  the  building.  The 
damage  resulting  therefrom  was  estimated  at  about  eleven  hundred  dollars. 

Paxton  was  visited  by  a  heavy  fire  on  INIonday,  January  18,  1869.  The 
fire  broke  out  in  a  building  occupied  by  Travis,  Hall  &  Company,  as  a  hard- 
ware store,  the  second  story  being  occupied  by  L.  A.  Dodd  as  a  dwelling.  Tlie 
losers  were  Travis,  Hall  &  Company,  hardware  dealers,  eleven  hundred  dol- 
lars ;  interest  in  building,  fourteen  hundred  dollars ;  no  insurance ;  L.  A.  Dodd, 
household  goods,  five  hundred  dollars,  insured;  interest  in  building,  one 
thousand  dollars;  uninsured;  S.  L.  Day,  interest  in  building,  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, uninsured;  J.  McCormick,  druggist,  loss  on  ])ui](ling,  three  thousand  dol- 
lars, insured  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars ;  loss  on  stock,  five  hundred  dollars ;  N. 
A.  Hall,  restaurant,  damage  on  stock,  two  hundred  dollars;  Mrs.  S.  S.  Lantz, 
daguerreotype  gallery,  loss  on  stock,  three  hundred  dollars,  insured;  h)ss  on 
household  goods,  two  Inmdred  dollars;  Scott  &  McDaniel,  dry  goods,  loss  on 
building,  two  thousand  dollars;  insured  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars;  IMasonic 
lodge,  on  furniture,  two  hundred  dollars;  C.  II.  Wyman,  on  building,  two  tliou- 
sand  dollars,  with  no  insurance.  Tlie  origin  of  the  fire  was  unknowai.  The 
advantage  of  brick  over  wood  as  a  building  material  was  demonstrated  in  the 
case  of  Pells'  block,  which  escaped  comparatively  unscathed,  though  suljjected 
to  an  intense  heat. 

On  the  27th  of  March  excavations  had  l)een  commenced  for  the  founda- 
tions of  five  brick  buildings  to  occupy  the  site  of  those  destroyed  by  fire. 


216  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  engineer  corps,  engaged  in  running  the  line  of  the  L.  B.  &  ]M.  Rail- 
road through  Paxton,  arrived  March  23,  1870,  under  charge  of  Colonel  Morgan. 

The  assessment  returns  of  Ford  county,  for  the  year  1870,  amounted  to 
two  million  thirty-seven  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-two  dollars.  The 
number  of  acres  under  cultivation  were,  of  wheat,  eight  thousand  six  hundred 
and  forty-five ;  corn,  fifty  thousand  two  hundred  and  two ;  other  field  products, 
twelve  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-nine. 

Enterprise  was  the  name  of  a  village  platted  in  township  27  (Drummer) 
at  the  crossing  of  the  L.  B.  &  ]\I.  and  G.  C.  &  S.  Railroads,  by  J.  B.  Lott,  in 
November,  1870.  The  location  was  favorable  as  to  commercial  facilities  and 
the  name  of  the  village  has  since  been  changed  to  Gibson  City.  It  is  now 
one  of  the  most  flourishing  towns  of  the  county.  As  its  original  name  implies, 
Gibson  City  is  remarkable  for  its  enterprise  and  thrift.  It  is  the  second  town 
in  the  county  in  size  and  population,  is  provided  with  gaslight,  has  good  side- 
walks, telephone  connection  with  Saybrook  and  Bloomington,  and  other  modern 
improvements. 

A  destructive  storm  visited  Paxton  and  vicinity  from  the  12tli  to  the  14th 
of  January,  1871.  Every  building,  fence  and  tree  was  encased  in  an  icy  coat 
of  mail  nearly  an  inch  in  thickness.  Scarcely  a  building  escaped  damage  from 
leakage  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The  greatest  loss  sustained  was  to  fruit 
and  shade  trees,  some  of  those  from  four  to  five  inches  in  diameter  being  either 
broken  ofl'  entirely  or  stripped  of  their  limbs. 

The  Paxton  flax  mill  was  built  in  the  summer  of  1871.  The  main  building 
is  one  hundred  and  eight  by  thirty  feet. 

]\r.  L.  SuUivant  finished  husking  his  corn  for  1871  on  the  29th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1872.  His  crop  aggregated  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  bushels. 
Mr.  Sullivant  was  at  that  time  proprietor  of  Burr  Oaks  farm  comprising  some 
forty-two  thousand  acres. 

The  last  rail  of  the  T^ake  Erie  &  Western  Railwa\'  was  laid  February  22, 
1872. 

Kirk's  Station,  Clarence  postoffice,  was  established  in  May,  1872.  on  tlie 
line  of  the  L.  B.  &  M.  Railway,  about  six  miles  east  of  Paxton. 

A  terrible  railroad  accident  was  the  cause  of  much  sorrow  in  Paxton  and 
vicinity,  June,  1872.  On  the  17th  of  that  month,  a  construction  train  ran  from 
the  track  and  four  men  were  instantly  killed  and  twenty-one  injured.  Two  of 
the  latter  died  soon  thereafter.  The  coroner's  j\iry  returned  a  verdict  iji 
accordance  with  these  facts. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  217 

Independence  Day,  1872,  Avas  celebrated  in  the  courthouse  park.  There 
was  a  laro'e  concourse  of  people  present,  and  the  usual  oration,  toasts,  music, 
etc.,  were  indulged  in.       There  was  a  display  of  fireworks  in  the  evening. 

The  first  annual  fair  of  the  Ford  County  Agricultural  Association  was  held, 
commencing  September  24,  1872.  The  officers  were  William  Noel,  president; 
]\r.  L.  Sullivant  and  F.  T.  Putt,  vice  presidents;  George  Wright,  treasurer;  J.  J. 
Simons,  recording  secretary ;  N.  E.  Stevens,  corresponding  secretary ;  John  Bod- 
ley,  superintendent. 

October  29,  1872,  the  Paxton  IMethodist  Episcopal  churdi  was  dedicated, 
the  sermon  being  delivered  by  Rev.  A.  P.  Mead.  The  church  had  been  occu- 
pied for  a  number  of  years,  but  at  this  time  extensive  repairs  and  improve- 
ments had  been  completed. 

In  October,  1872,  a  carload  of  scrapers,  plows,  etc.,  was  unloaded  at  Pax- 
ton,  to  ])e  used  in  grading  the  Paxton  &  Danville  Railroad. 

October  27,  1872,  at  the  union  services.  Rev.  W.  M.  Richie  was  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  Paxton  United  Presbyterian  church.  The  sermon  was  preached 
by  Rev.  J.  D.  Whitham,  of  Rankin.  The  resident  pastors,  Revs.  I.  Brundage, 
W.  D.  Best  and  J.  L.  McNair,  assisted  in  the  services. 

The  work  of  drilling  an  artesian  well  was  begun  in  1873.  Diiring  the  pro- 
gress of  the  work  many  curious  bits  of  wood  were  drawn  up  which  were,  no 
doubt,  buried  in  these  strata  ages  upon  ages  ago.  The  well  proved  a  failure, 
and  after  boring  over  twenty-seven  hundred  feet,  the  work  was  abandoned ;  not. 
however,  until  it  had  burdened  the  city  with  a  debt  of  some  eighteen  thousand 
dollars. 

The  Presbyterian  church  in  1884  was  a  frame  building,  forty-two  by  sixty- 
eight  feet,  with  vestibiUe,  and  was  of  the  gothic  order  of  architecture.  The 
main  audience  room  was  twenty-eight  feet  high,  and  frescoed  in  Corinthian 
style.  The  interior  presented  a  very  pleasing  appearance.  The  cost  of  the 
edifice  was  about  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  dedication  took 
place  on  the  13th  day  of  July,  1873.  Rev.  Dr.  Bailey  preached  the  dedicatory 
sermon,  and  at  the  services  some  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  was  subscribed 
toward  li<iuidating  a  debt  of  al)out  two  thcnisand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars which  rested  on  the  building. 


THE  SWEDES  IN  FORD  COUNTY. 

A  book  called  "Svenskarne  in  Illinois"   (the  Swedes  in  Illinois)   was  com- 
piled and  written  in  1880  by  Captain  Eric  Johnson,  of  Galva,  Illinois,  and  C. 


218  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

F.  Peterson,  one  of  the  mana«;in<2r  editors  of  Swenska   Tribiinen   (the  Swedish 
Tribune)  Chicago,  and  from  it  the  following  translations  are  made  by  John  F. 

G.  Helmer: 

This  part  of  Illinois  has  a  very  peculiar  geographical  shape,  and  is  siiiiil;ii' 
to  Rock  Island  county.  It  is  forty-one  miles  long  and  twenty-eiglit  miles 
wide,  located  between  Iroquois  and  Livingston  counties.  In  one  place  it  is 
twenty-eight  miles,  and  in  another  again,  eighteen  miles  wide,  but  only  to  again 
contract  itself  into  a  narrow  strip  only  six  miles  wide.  The  county  was  organ- 
ized in  1859,  and  had  in  1870  a  population  of  ten  thousand  people.  The  land 
is  nearly  level  and  in  many  places  very  level  and  flat,  so  that  the  system  of 
ditches  are  necessary  to  carry  off  the  surplus  water  in  wet  seasons.  Paxton  is 
the  leading  town  and  county  seat,  and  has  a  population  of  three  thousand  six 
hundred. 


THE  SWEDES   IN   AND   ABOUT   PAXTON. 

The  Swedes  in  Paxton  and  the  immediate  vicinity  have  in  Swen  Hedenskog 
their  earliest  pioneer.  He  had  in  Sweden  been  overseer  of  a  large  plantation  in 
the  province  of  Holland,  and  emigrated  with  his  family  in  1857,  and  settled 
about  nine  miles  west  of  Paxton.  Here,  poor  as  he  was,  he  experienced  many 
privations,  but  came  out  victorious,  and  prospered,  and  was  considered  w^ell-off 
Avhen  he  moved  to' Nebraska  a  number  of  years  ago,  at  which  place  he  died. 
In  1859,  Carl  Anderson,  who  was  a  sailor  by  occupation,  and  another  man  by 
the  name  of  Andrew  Olson  (both  from  the  Province  of  HeLsingland,  Sweden) 
located  in  the  neighborhood.     Anderson  has  since  removed  to  Colorado. 

"Wlien  in  1863  it  became  an  assured  fact  to  locate  the  Swedish  Augustana 
College  at  Paxton,  the  Swedish  emigration  became  lively  to  these  parts,  and  in 
that  year  an  agreement  Avas  made  Avith  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
that  the  Swedes  should  settle  on  lands  the  company  had  for  sale,  in  considera- 
tion of  which  the  company  should  pay  tlie  college  a  conunission  of  oiu^  dollar 
per  acre  on  every  acre  sold  to  the  Swedish  settlers.  Consul  P.  L.  liawkinson, 
of  Chicago,  was  the  company's  agent  in  Paxton.  Among  others  who  arrived 
at  that  time  was  Erik  Rasmus,  from  Ganunelstorp  Blekinge.  He  had  then  been 
in  the  country  ten  years,  having  emigrated  in  1853.  aiul  settled  at  Galesburg. 
In  the  same  year  (1^63)  came  to  the  Paxton  colony,  Carl  Larson,  Erik  Carlson, 
John  Anderson  and  A.  ]\I.  Hanson. 

The  following  year  brought  to  Paxton  J.  II.  Wistrand,  who  was  the  first 
Swedisli  merchant  in  Paxton,  and  kept  a  grocery  store  until  1875,  w^hen  the  col- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  219 

lege  removed  to  Rock  Island;  he  also  removed  there  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
business.  Peter  Hedburg  appeared  in  Paxton  the  same  year,  and  kept  a  lum- 
beryard at  first,  and  afterward  in  various  other  occupations,  and  held  the  ofifices 
of  justice  of  the  peace  and  collector.  Poor  health  made  it  necessary  for  him 
to  seek  a  different  clime,  and  in  the  spring  of  1873  he  removed  to  Colorado  and 
located  at  Denver,  where  he  became  the  Swedish  consul. 

Emigration  to  the  Ford  county  colony  continued  brisk,  and  in  1865,  the 
following  additons  from  Attica,  Indiana,  where  all  had  lived  for  many  years: 
Fredrik  Bjorklund,  Carl  Fager,  John  Swan,  John  Johnson,  Carl  Peterson,  Peter 
Larson,  Carl  Johnson,  Adolph  Johnson  and  John  Nelson.  Emigration  to  the 
place  continued  constantly  till  1870.  Since  then  nearly  as  many  have  moved 
out  west  to  the  western  states  and  territories,  as  have  come  here  from  Sweden. 
About  them  can  be  said  that  they  have  fought  all  difficulties  with  heroic  cour- 
age, and  acquired  an  independence  where  their  Amrican  brethren  and  neigh- 
bors very  often  have  failed.  The  secret  here  is  their  persevering  hard  labor, 
and  strict  economy. 

The  number  of  Swedes  in  Paxton  is  estimated  at  fifteen  hundred.  In  no 
place,  with  the  exception  of  New  Boston,  can  be  found  as  many  business  men 
(merchants)  in  proportion  to  the  population,  and  no  where  do  the  Swedes  do  a 
better  business  than  here.  It  is  natural  that  they  would  not  succeed  as  well, 
did  not  the  Americans  support  them  as  well  as  their  Swedish  patrons.  One  of 
tlic  most  successful  Swedish  enterprises  Avas  Nels  Dahlgren's  plow  and  machine 
shops.  ]\Ir.  Dahlgren  had  before  been  engaged  with  John  Deere  &  Co.  in  INIoline. 
He  came  to  Paxton  in  1865,  and  began  on  a  small  scale  the  same  year.  His  pro- 
ductions, especially  his  plows,  soon  earned  him  a  reputation  as  the  best  in  the 
market,  and  the  demand  for  them  increased,  and  the  shops  were  enlarged  so  that 
he  was  al^le  to  manufacture  three  hundred  plows  and  forty  cultivators  in  1871. 

We  continue  further,  and  find  Gustaf  Sandberg,  who  runs  an  important 
wagon  and  blacksmith  shop ;  Swenning  Anderson,  blacksmith ;  J.  P.  Lindstrom, 
dealer  and  manufacturer  in  furniture  and  cabinet  goods;  Kjellstrand  &  INIelby, 
painters ;  A.  J.  Laurence,  dry  goods ;  John  F.  G.  Helmer,  druggist ;  Peter  Larson, 
merchant  tailor;  John  Nelson,  dealer  in  ready  made  clothing;  Fred  Telander, 
groceries  and  hardware ;  N.  G.  Egnall,  furniture ;  Nels  Younggreen,  John  Crantz, 
Andrew  Anderson,  Perry  A.  Berggren  and  Lars  H.  Rodeen,  grocers ;  Sheldon  & 
Swanson,  dealers  and  manufacturers  of  boots  and  shoes;  P.  A.  Berggren,  photog- 
rapher, and  Swen  Lundberg,  brick  and  tile  maker,  with  a  yearly  production  of 
five  hundred  thousand  brick.      In  the  matter  of  churches,  they  are  here  as  well 


220  HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 

provided  for  as  their  countrymen  elsewhere.  The  Swedish  Lutheran  congrega- 
tion was  organized  by  Prof.  Hasselguist  in  1863. 

The  first  service  was  held  in  the  old  sehoolhouse  which  belonged  to  the 
college,  and  served  as  a  house  of  worshi})  till  1872,  when  a  good  and  substantial 
church  was  built. 

The  congregation  is  a  large  one,  and  the  Sunday  school  is  equally  so.  In 
1884  Rev.  A.  Edgren  was  pastor  of  the  church,  and  was  born  in  Nedra  Ulleryd, 
in  the  Province  of  Vermland,  the  3d  day  of  January,  1844.  He  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1870,  and  graduated  in  Paxton  the  2!)th  of  June,  1873.  The  Swedish 
Lutheran  ]\Iission  church  was,  in  November,  1878,  organized  with  a  membership 
of  seventy-five,  with  Rev.  A.  P.  Palmc^uist  as  its  pastor.  The  following  year  a 
neat  and  pleasant  church  was  liuilt  at  an  expense  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
The  membership  has  since  largely  increased.  Society  Swea  has  existed  since 
1877,  and  is  at  present  in  a  very  prosperous  condition.  Its  principal  object  is 
to  furnish  its  members  social  benefits  and  mutual  assistance.  Swea  has  already 
paid  out  a  considerable  sum  as  help  to  sick  members,  and  has  laid  a  good  founda- 
tion for  a  library  fund. 

The  Swedish  cornet  band  was  organized  by  the  musically  inclined  Swedes, 
in  October,  1877,  with  G.  A.  Palmblad  as  leader,  and  members  of  same  were 
John  A.  Nelson,  C.  A.  Larson,  George  Hanson,  A.  E.  Sheldon,  G.  Swenson.  G.  A. 
Lundberg,  A.  Hegstrom,  A.  J.  Anderson  and  Gust  Sandburg.  In  the  political 
field  J^n  F.  G.  Helmer  held  the  office  of  coroner  four  years,  the  office  of  the 
justice  of  the  peace  has  been  held  by  Peter  Iledburg,  and  also  Andrew  Lindstrom, 
now  residing  in  Chicago ;  and  he  was  elected  collector  of  taxes.  David  Swanson 
is  the  present  postmaster  of  Paxton. 


FARMERSVILT.E. 

This  is  a  settlement  of  Swedes,  nine  miles  west  of  Paxton,  and  is  the  center 
of  a  large,  prosperous  settlement,  dating  back  to  1863  and  1864,  or  at  aI)out  the 
same  time  the  college  was  located  in  Paxton.  About  the  countrymen  there  is  not 
much  of  a  general  interest  to  relate,  because  they  live  scattered  on  farms,  and  we 
have  no  other  history  than  that  of  their  church. 

A  Swedish  Lutheran  church  was  organized  here  in  the  year  1863,  and  in  1867 
a  church  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  four  thousand  tlpHars  and  a  parsonage  costing 
two  thousand  dollars — membership  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five.  This 
colony  stretches  far  away  in  the  north  and  west,  to  the  stations  of  Elliott  and 
Gibson,  and  in  each  of  them  are  a  number  of  Swedes. 


SIBI.EY  ELEVATOR,  SIBLEY 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY 


223 


At  Gibson  reside  several  Swedish  families,  who  have  organized  two  churches, 
The  Lutheran  and  Mission. 

The  Paxton  settlement  branches  out  south  along  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
into  Campaign  county,  and  at  Rantoul.  East  of  Paxton  we  have  Rankin,  where 
a  Swedish  Lutheran  congregation  has  existed  since  1865. 


STATISTICS. 

ASSESSMENT  FOR  1860. 

Kind  of  Property  Number 

Horses 805 

Cattle 1870 

Mules  12 

Sheep 108 

Hogs 1133 

Value  of  domestic  animals 

Indebtedness  on  domestic  animals 

Net  value  of  domestic  animals 

Carriages  and  wagons  324 

Clocks  and  watches   303 

Pianos   4 

Goods  and  merchandise 

^Manufactured  article  

Moneys  and  credits   

Unincumbered  property    

Total  personal  property 

Total  valuation  of  lands   

Total  valuation  of  town  lots 

Total  assessed  value  for  1860 

AGRICULTURxN-L   STATISTICS. 

Kind  of  Crop 

Wheat    

Corn    

Other  products   

Acres  reported  under  cultivation 


Value 

i 

$39,615 

00 

26,473 

00 

540 

00 

108 

00 

2,721 

00 

$69,457 

00 

11,292 

00 

$58,165 

00 

8,471 

00 

1,652 

00 

335  00 

6,715 

00 

15 

00 

11,663 

00 

18,446 

00 

$105,462 

00 

794,066 

00 

20,477 

00 

$920,005 

00 

Acres 

2,921 

9,355 

: 

591 

12,867 


224  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

TAXES    FOR    1860. 

Kind  of  Tax.  Amount 

State    $4,32-1  02 

State    School 1,840  01 

County    3.220  00 

Special  County 920  05 

Road  462  63 

School  District  1,  Town  23  Range  28    498  94 

School  District  2,  Town  23,  Range  8    70  36 

School  District  1,  Town  24,  Range  9    98  58 

School  District  2,  Town  24,  Range  9    303  01 

School  District  1,  Town  23,  Range  10 122  79 

School  District  3,  Town  23,  Range  10 85  08 

School  District  1,  Town  23,  Range  14 37  75 

School  District  2,  Town  23,  Range  14 106  43 

School  District  2,  Town  23,  Range  9    153  55 

School  District  1,  Town  26,  Range  9    625  97 

School  District  2,  Town  26,  Range  9 436  54 

School  District  4,  Town  25,  Range  9    536  40 

Back  taxes  for   1859    164  12 


Total  taxes  for  1860   14,005  23 


far:\i  drainage  of  ford  county. 

In  the  early  days  inuch  of  the  farming  in  Ford  county  was  done  uj)()n  low; 
wet  and  swampy  lands.  During  those  days  it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence 
in  the  springtime  to  see  a  large  number  of  acres  of  the  very  best  land  in  the 
state  under  from  one  to  two  feet  of  water.  For  this  reason  nuicli  of  llic  most 
valuable  land  in  the  county  was  at  that  time  considered  of  litllc  \;ilue  on 
account  of  the  lack  of  drainage.  In  recent  years  however.  Ix'giniiing  ;is  early 
as  1884  the  farmers  of  Foi'd  connt\'  have  oi'g.uiizcd  draiiiiige  districts  and 
now,  practically,  all  of  the  lands  of  Ford  county,  formerly  low  and  swani})y, 
have  l)een    I'cclaimed    foi*  ;igricultur;d    ])ui'[)oses. 

It  is  well  known  niuoiig  agi'icultui'ists  that  low  swampy  lands  when  once 
properly  drained  become  the  richest  and  most  productive  of  lands.  Whereas, 
formerly,  when  the  far-mer  sowed  his  grain  in  the  springtime  with  no  assurance 


HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY  225 

that  lie  would  reap  a  harvest,  now,  by  successful  drainage  of  his  lands  he  finds 
an  almost  sure  harvest. 

There  is  now  under  operation  and  maintenance  in  Ford  county,  the  fol- 
lowing drainage  districts : 

Vermilion  Special,   cost    ii^200,000.00 

Pella  No.   1,   cost    $12,000.00 

Pella  No.   2,   cost    $15,000.00 

Union  Pella  and  Brenton,  cost    $30,000.00 

AVall   Township,   cost    $25,000.00 

Lyman  township,   cost    $15,000.00 

Lyman  and  Wall  township,  cost   $30,000.00 

Little  Lyman,  cost    $     5,000.00 

Big  Four,   cost    > $425,000.00 

Sullivant  township,   cost    $18,000.00 

Harmony  township,  cost    $12,000.00 

Sugar  Creek,  cost   $18,000.00 

Drummer  Township  uncompleted,   estimated  cost.  .$40,000.00 

The  above  items  of  cost  are  estimated,  and  Avhile  not  exactly  correct,  they 
are  still  very  close  to  the  exact  figures.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  public 
drainage  work  among  the  farmers  of  Ford  county  has  reached  or  will  reach 
approximately  the  sum  of  six  hundred  thousand  .dollars,  when  all  the  drain- 
age districts  now  in  process  of  construction  are  paid  for.  These  drainage  dis- 
tricts have  reclaimed  thousands  of  acres  of  land,  which,  before  their  construc- 
tion, were  either  entirely  non-productive  or  the  crops  growing  thereon  were 
largely  lessened  as  a  result  of  improper  drainage.  These  districts  have  afforded 
sufficient  and  proper  outlets  for  the  lands  within  the  boundaries  of  each  dis- 
trict and  the  farmers  have  taken  the  opportunity  to  lay  a  great  number  of 
tile,  so  that,  taking  all  and  all  Ford  county  has  been  reclaimed  from  numerous 
low,  wet  swamps  to  high  grade,  productive  agricultural  lands. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  farming  lands  of  Ford  county  in  pro- 
ductions, are  far  above  the  average  of  the  farms  throughout  the  state.  And 
one  of  the  main  causes  of  this  has  been  the  result  of  public  spirit  among  the 
farmers,  resulting  in  the  large  expenditure  of  money  in  drainage. 

The  law  firms  that  have  been  connected  with  this  work  are,  Cloud  & 
Thpmpson,  Schneider  &  Schneider  and  A.  L.  Phillips.  As  a  result  of  drain- 
age litigation  two  very  important  cases  have  been  taken  from  Ford  county  to 
the  higher  courts. 


226  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  case  of  Big  Four  Drainage  District  vs  Perdue  et  al  was  taken  to 
the  appellate  court  by  the 'firm  of  Schneider  &  Schneider,  representing  the 
objectors  and  Cloud  &  Thompson  representing  the  drainage  district.  The 
question  Avhich  arose  in  that  case  was,  "To  what  extent  miLst  lands  be  bene- 
fited before  they  can  be  annexed  to  a  drainage  district  and  assessed?"  The 
court  held  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  drainage  commissioners  to  show  that 
direct  benefits  accrue  by  giving  the  proposed  annexed  laud,  a  better  system 
of  drainage,  so  as  to  enhance  its  market  value. 

Another  case  entitled  Trigger  vs  Lyman  and  Wall  Drainage  District  was 
taken  to  the  supreme  court  by  the  attorneys  heretofore  mentioned,  and  the 
court  in  that  case  held  that  the  commissioners  could  levy  au  assessment  of 
benefits  against  the  lands  and  that  objectors  to  the  assessment  were  not  entitled 
to  a  hearing  by  a  jury. 

The  supreme  court  has,  however,  held  recently  that  drainage  commissioners 
who  own  land  in  a  drainage  district  are  not  competent  to  levy  an  assessment, 
and  in  at  least  three  cases  they  have  held  such  assessments  unconstitutional 
and  void. 

Farm  drainage  and  the  law  connected  therewith  is  a  science  in  itself  and 
the  farmers  of  Ford  county  have  given  the  matter  a  great  deal  of  attention. 
They  know  that  Ford  county  is  an  agricultural  section  and  that  the  wealth  of 
the  county  lies  chiefly  in  its  farms  and  they  have  determined  to  do  all  in  their 
power  to  increase  the  value  of  their  lands  by  drainage  and  otherwise.  They 
are  a  rugged,  sterling  set  and  have  caused  "two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where 
one  grew  before."  Generations  to  come  will  reap  the  reward  of  their  industry 
and  frugality. 


FORD   COUNTY  FAIRS. 

A  public  meeting  \\as  held  at  the  courthouse  in  Paxtoii,  A{)i-il  !),  1S()4.  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  fair  association.  J.  II.  Dungan  was  chosen  ciiair- 
man  of  tlie  meeting  and  William  A.  Ooodrich,  secretary.  A  constitution  for 
au  association,  to  be  known  as  "The  Ford  County  Agricultural  Society,"  Avas 
unanimously  adopted,  in  \vlii(  h  Ihc  ohjcd  was  stated  to  be  "The  ])romotion  of 
agricultural,  horticultural,  niccliaiiical  and  household  arts,"  and  Ihc  following 
officers  were  elected : 

President,  Frederick  T.  Putt ;  vice  presidents,  Joshua  E.  Davis,  J.  P. 
Search,  E.  F.  Havens;  recording  secretary,  L.  A.  Barber;  corresponding  secre- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  227 

tary,  R.  R.  Murdock,  treasurer,  John  L.  Miirdock;  directors,  James  F.  Hall, 
Howard  Case,  Leonard  Pierpont,  William  Baker,  G.  B.  Winter. 

Under  the  above  organization  eouut.>'  fairs  were  held  in  Paxton  in  1864 
and  1865.  After  tliis  no  fair  was  held  for  several  years.  On  the  10th  of 
February,  1872,  a  pu])lic  meeting;-  convened  at  the  courthouse  to  reorganize 
under  a  new  constitution  and  the  by-laws  of  the  state  board  of  agriculture. 
Of  this  meeting,  Benjamin  P.  Dye  was  chairman,  and  N.  E.  Stevens,  secretary. 
This  object,  however,  was  not  accomplished  until  an  adjourned  meeting,  held 
April  6,  1872,  when  a  constitution  and  by-laws  were  adopted,  and  the  follow- 
ing officers  elected: 

President,  William  Noel;  vice  presidents,  M.  L.  Sullivant,  F.  T.  Putt; 
secretary,  John  J.  Simons;  treasurer,  George  Wright;  corresponding  secretary, 
N.  E.  Stevens ;  executive  committee ;  John  Bodley,  W.  B.  Holmes,  Samuel 
Lefever,  B.  F.  Dye,  John  Richardson,  William  T.  Patton,  R.  Cruzen,  C.  F. 
FreM^,  A.  H.  Hanley. 

Under  this  organization  a  fair  was  held  in  Paxton,  commencing  Septem- 
ber 24,  1872,  and  lasting  four  days. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1873,  having  ascertained  that,  by  a  clerical  error, 
the  name  of  the  society  did  not  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  state  board, 
a  resolution  was  adopted  declaring  the  name  to  be  "The  Ford  County  Agri- 
cultural Board." 

The  officers  elected  for  1873  were  as  follows: 

President,  William  Noel;  vice  presidents,  F.  T.  Putt,  William  Walker; 
secretary,  John  J.  Simons;  treasurer,  George  Wright;  corresponding  secretary, 
C.  H.  Frew;  executive  committee,  John  Bodley,  W.  B.  Holmes,  Samuel  Lefever, 
B.  J.  Dye,  John  Richardson,  W.  T.  Patton,  R.  Cruzen,  C.  W.  Meharry,  A.  H. 
Hanley.  The  second  annual  fair  was  held  at  Paxton,  September  2  to  5, 
1873. 

Following  is  the  list  of  officers  for  1874: 

President,  William  Noel;  vice  president,  C.  W.  Meharry;  secretary,  John 
J.  Simons;  treasurer,  George  Wright;  corresponding  secretary,  C.  XL  Frew; 
executive  connnittee,  John  Bodley,  Lindsey  Corbley,  J.  H.  Flagg,  R.  Cruzen, 
A.  H.  Hanley,  John  Karr,  F.  T.  Putt,  B.  F.  Hill,  John  Bayne. 

The  fair  in  1874  was  held  at  Paxton,  September  29  to  October  2. 

Tlie  next  annual  fair  was  held  at  the  same  place,  September  21  to  24, 
1875.  Officers:  President,  William  Noel;  vice  president,  J.  H.  Flagg;  secre- 
tary-, JMerton   Diuilap;  treasurer,  J.  P.   Day;  corresponding  secretary,   N.   E. 


228  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

Stevens;  executive  committee,  F.  T.  Putt,  II.  J.  Sehaeffer.  John  Karr,  John 
Bayne,  P.  V.  Healey,  John  Bodley,  B.  F.  Hill,  N.  B.  Day,  R.  Cruzen. 

In  1876  the  fair  was  held  September  19  to  22.  Officers :  president,  F.  T. 
Putt;  vice  president,  J.  II.  Flagg;  secretary,  Merton  Dunlap ;  treasurer,  John 
M.  Hall;  corresponding  secretary,  N.  E.  Stevens;  executive  committee,  William 
Noel,  Georg-e  Arnott,  William  T.  Patton,  H.  J.  Sehaeffer,  C.  H.  Frew,  G.  W. 
Cruzen.  J.  P.  Middlecoff,  John  Karr,  P.  V.  Healey. 

The  fair  in  1877  was  held  September  11  to  IJ:.  Officers:  president.  F. 
T.  Putt ;  vice  president,  William  Noel ;  secretary,  John  J.  Simons ;  treasurer, 
John  M.  Hall ;  corresponding  secretary,  N.  E.  Stevens ;  executive  committee, 
H.  J.  Sehaeffer,  G.  W.  Cruzen,  George  Arnott,  A.  L.  Clark,  N.  B.  Day,  Charles 
Bogardus,  C.  M.  Bodley,  Daniel  Moudy,  J.  H.  Flagg. 

The  date  of  the  next  fair  was  September  10  to  13,  1878.  Officers:  pres- 
ident, Abram  Croft;  vice  president,  H.  J.  Sehaeffer;  secretary,  G.  W.  Cruzen; 
treasurer,  John  ]\I.  Hall ;  corresponding  secretary,  N.  E.  Stevens ;  executive 
committee,  J.  P.  Day,  Stacey  Daniels,  Daniel  Moudy,  W.  E.  Sawyer,  J.  B. 
Loose,  R.  Cruzen,  George  Arnott,  C.  W.  Meharry,  Lindsey  Corbley. 

In  1879  the  fair  was  held  September  16  to  19.  Officers:  president,  Abram 
Croft ;  vice  president,  A.  L.  Clark ;  secretary,  G.  W.  Cruzen ;  treasurer,  John 
M.  Hall;  corresponding  secretary,  N.  E.  Stevens;  directors,  J.  P.  Day,  J.  C. 
Kirkpatrick,  J.  B.  Loose,  William  Noel,  F.  T.  Putt,  W.  E.  Sawyer. 

The  fair  of  1880  was  held  August  31  and  September  1  to  3.  Officers: 
president,  Abram  Croft;  vice  presidents,  J.  P.  Day,  A.  Goodell,  II.  J.  Sehaef- 
fer; secretary,  W.  McTaggart;  treasurer,  John  M.  Hall;  corresponding  secre- 
tary, N.  E.  Stevens;  directors,  N.  B.  Day,  0.  A.  Swanson,  T.  jM.  King,  A.  M. 
Daggett,  John  Karr,  J.  W.  Axline,  J.  R.  Kinnear,  William  Noel,  E.  F.  Earl. 

The  last  fair  was  held  in  Paxtou,  August  30  and  31,  and  September  1 
and  2,  1881.  Officers:  president,  Charles  Bogardus;  vice  presidents,  E.  F. 
Earl,  N.  B.  Day,  W.  E.  Sawyer;  secretary,  George  A.  Hall;  treasurer,  George 
"Grove;  corresponding  secretary,  D.  E.  Stoner;  directors,  A.  Croft,  W.  McTag- 
gart, William  Noel,  A.  M.  Daggett,  T.  ]\I.  King,  William  Kenney,  Nels  Dahl- 
gren,  R.  S.  Hall,  J.  W.  Axline. 


BRENTON  AND  PELLA  FARMERS'  CLUB. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Clark's  Hall  at  Piper  City,  November  5,  1881,  by 
some  of  tlic  citizc'ns  of  Brenton  and  Bella  townships,  for  the  ])urpose  of  organ- 
izing a   I'anuers'  club,  the  following  business  was  transaeted : 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  220 

On  motion  of  James  MeDermott,  of  Pelln,  James  Arnold,  of  Pella,  was 
chosen  president.  On  motion  of  James  R.  Rezner,  of  Brenton,  T.  J.  Sowers, 
of  Pella,  was  chosen  secretary,  and  on  motion  of  Peter  Gallahue,  of  Pella, 
James  R.  Rezner,  of  Brenton,  was  elected  treasurer.  On  motion,  the  club  was 
named  The  Brenton  and  Pella  Farmers'  Club. 

On  motion,  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  Clark's  Hall,  December  3,  1881, 
at  7  o'clock,  P.  M. 

T.    J.    Sowers,    Secretary. 

At  the  next  meeting,  December  3,  1881,  J.  A.  Montelius  moved  that  the 
officers  elected  hold  their  offices  for  one  year.       Carried. 

This  was  the  first  of  a  number  of  most  interesting  meetings  during  the 
winter  of  1881-82.  They  were  all  well  attended,  and  many  farmers  gave  some 
valuable  information  on  matters  of  interest  to  agriculturists. 

During  this  year  it  was  decided  to  hold  a  fair  for  the  exhibition  of  live 
stock,  and  the  23d  day  of  September,  1882,  was  selected  for  the  occasion. 

At  this  meeting,  Henry  Allnutt  was  elected  assistant  secretary. 

The  premiums  offered  were  the  Western  Rural  and  Piper  City  Advertiser, 
for  the  best  blooded  animal  on  the  grounds. 

The  blue  and  red  ribbons  were  awarded  in  each  class.  There  were  sev- 
enty-nine entries.  Three  sjian  of  horses  afterward  sold  for  five  hundred  dol- 
lars each  for  each  span.  R.  Dunn,  of  Brenton,  took  the  Western  Rural  and 
Advertiser  premium. 

GIBSON. 

This  society  was  organized  in  1872,  and  the  first  fair  was  held  in  Septem- 
ber of  that  year.  The  first  officers  were  J.  E.  Davis,  president;  W.  H.  Simms, 
secretary;  John  H.  Collier,  treasurer.  The  society  continued  in  successful 
operation  until  1879,  the  last  fair  being  in  September  of  the  latter  year.  The 
last  officers  were  J.  B.  Lott,  president;  R.  M.  Smith,  secretary;  M.  T.  Bur- 
well,  treasurer. 

Mr.  Lott,  who  was  very  active  and  succeeded  in  making  this  last  fair  quite 
a  success,  was  taken  sick  and  died  shortly  afterward. 

THE  SCHOOLS  OF  FORD  COUNTY. 

People  always  enjoy  the  contemplation  of  that  portion  of  their  history  which 
has  been  subject  to  severe  struggles  and  hardships,  because  all  things  valuable 
are  acquired  by  exertion,  self-sacrifice  and  cost,  and  amid  great  vicissitudes. 


230  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

What  is  true  of  individual  historx  is  ecjually  true  of  the  history  of  com- 
munities and  nations.  Even  the  histories  of  enterprises  of  all  kinds  are 
subject  to  the  same  general  law. 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact,  however,  that  those  incidents,  in  which  we  feel  so 
keen  and  lively  an  interest,  are  largely  wrappc^l  in  the  obscurity  of  tradition. 
This  is  owing  to  the  small,  almost  insignificant,  beginning  of  all  enterprises, 
and  the  little  importance  attached  to  the  necessity  of  preserving  the  early  records. 
We  are  apt  to  forget  that,  however  insignificant  the  beginning  of  anything  may 
be,  it  may,  in  course  of  time,  assume  vast  and  paramount  importance. 

Near  the  close  of  October,  A.  D.  1853,  David  Patton  removed  from 
Lafayette,  Indiana,  to  that  portion  of  the  present  Ford  county,  popularly 
known  as  Ten  ]\Iile  Grove,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Paxton.  Here 
Mr.  Patton  found  about  a  dozen  families,  who  had  located  along  this  belt  of 
timber,  not  venturing  far  out  on  the  prairie  lest  they  should  lack  for  fuel  and 
shelter,  which  the  timber  so  gratuitously  provided. 

The  schoolhouses  nearest  to  this  point  were  located  at  Urbana  and  ]\Iiddle- 
port.  a  distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles.  The  desire  to  give  their  children 
an  elementary  education  existed  in  the  heads  of  these  families,  but  no  effort  had 
been  made  to  secure  the  benefits  to  which  all  looked  forward  with  an  intense 
longing. 

Under  the  direction  of  David  Patton,  a  meeting  was  called,  at  which  it  was 
decided  to  erect  a  log  schoolhouse.  This  resolution  was  not  formed  to  l)e 
speedily  forgotten,  but  was  acted  upon  at  once. 

There  was  no  plethoric  treasury,  there  were  no  selfish  contractors,  there 
were  no  expensive  mechanics  to  employ,  so  the  men  shouldered  their  axes,  and 
in  the  most  primitive  manner  constructed  the  most  primitive  schoolhouse.  One 
week  from  the  day  of  the  meeting,  the  new  schoolhouse  was  ready  for  use. 

A  difficulty  at  this  point,  however,  presented  itself.  The  schoolhouse  was 
in  place,  and  about  thirty-five  pupils  waiting,  eager  to  slake  their  thirst  for 
knowledge  at  the  spring  from  which  they  had  been  so  long  debarred.  Rut 
teachers  were  scarce,  and  none  could  be  found  to  lead  the  young  minds. 

In  this  extremity,  Mr.  Patton  himself  assumed  the  responsibility  of  teacher, 
opened  the  school  about  the  middle  of  November,  1853,  and  taught  till  the 
following  spring. 

Ill  llie  spring  of  1854,  ]Mr.  Patton  went  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  to  buy  his 
supply  of  groceries,  and  while  there  employed  a  Miss  Eidala  Lewis,  who  taught 
for  six  months  and  then  married. 


PAXTON    HIGH    SCHOOL 


HISTORY   OF   FORI)   COUNTY  233 

During'  the  winter  of  1854-55,  David  Patton  was  again  employed  to  teach, 
which  he  did  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  great  benefit  to  the  school. 

]\Iiss  Polly  Dops.  daughter  of  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  a  family  of  the 
Button  neighborhood,  six  miles  southeast  of  Paxton,  and  favorably  known  by 
everyone,  was  engaged  to  teach  for  six  months  during  the  summer  of  1855. 

A  ]\Ir.  Smith  from  IMontgomery  county,  Indiana,  was  engaged  to  teach  the 
school  in  the  Patton  district,  as  it  was  now  called,  during  the  winter  of  1855-56. 
The  pupils,  some  of  whom  could  attend  school  only  a  short  time  during  the  year, 
manifested  great  interest  in  their  work,  and  pursued  their  studies  with  a  wonder- 
ful zeal. 

Prospect  City,  now  Paxton,  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  at  this  time 
gave  promise  of  becoming  an  improtant  business  center,  and  many  new  families 
came  in  to  share  in  the  profits  that  often  arise  from  the  rapid  building  up  and 
improving  of  new  frontier  towns. 

Among  the  new  comers  was  a  Rev.  AV.  W.  Blanchard,  of  Urbana.  Mr. 
Blanchard  was  engaged  to  teach  the  first  school  in  the  Upper  Ten  Mile,  a  place 
two  miles  further  up  the  stream  than  the  Patton  school.  This  school  was  taught 
during  the  winter  of  1855-56. 

The  people  here  had  not  yet  built  a  schoolhouse,  but«the  school  was  taught 
in  the  lean-to  of  the  log  house  of  the  late  Daniel  C.  Stoner,  extensively  and 
favorably  known  throughout  the  entire  southern  part  of  the  county. 

An  incident  w^orthy  of  notice,  and  one  that  will  long  be  remembered  in  that 
locality ;  an  incident  that  varied  the  humdrum  monotony  of  everyday  life,  and 
fixed  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  that  neighborhood,  was  the  marriage  of  one 
of  the  pupils,  Miss  Barbara  Stoner,  to  N.  B.  Day,  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
the  young  but  enterprising  city  of  Paxton.  The  teacher.  Rev.  Blanchard,  solemn- 
ized the  important  event.  A  marriage  is  always  of  interest,  but  in  a  new  country 
and  a  young  community,  it  becomes  an  event  of  paramount  importance.  In  this 
case  the  bride,  ]\Irs.  N.  B.  Day,  continued  an  earnest  student  till  the  close  of  the 
term,  Avhich  made  the  event  doubly  important,  for  not  every  school  has  the 
honor  to  have  on  its  roll  a  full-blown  bride. 

Other  pupils  of  this  school  were  the  Rev.  Franklin  Stoner;  Jesse  Todd; 
Edmund  and  Oliver  Ilagin. 

We  cannot  stop  to  trace  the  history  of  the  individual,  nor  give  even  a  brief 
biography  of  each  pupil.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  nearly  every  member  of 
these  early  schools  filled  an  honorable  place  in  the  community  where  he  resided. 

In  the  summer  of  1856,  IMr.  Blanchard  was  engaged  to  teach  in  the  log 
schoolhouse  in  the  Patton  district,  District  No.  1.      During  the  follo\ving  winter 


234  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

of  1856-57,  i\Ir.  Blanchard  taught  in  the  parlor  of  Mr.  Patton,  District  No.  1,  the 
old  schoolhouse,  which  had  been  bnilt  in  1853,  and  at  the  time  of  the  building 
was  intended  as  a  makeshift  only,  having  become  old  and  useless. 

At  this  time  the  population  increased  so  rapidly  that  it  became  necessary  to 
organize  new  school  districts.  This  was  especially  true  of  Paxton,  a  growing 
young  city,  but  still  without  a  schoolhouse. 

Ford  county  did  not  yet  exist,  but  the  territory  constituting  it  was  still  a 
part  of  Vermilion  county.  Applicants  for  teachers'  certificates,  therefore,  were 
obliged  to  go  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  or  more  to  Danville,  in  order  to  pass  an 
examination  and  secure  certificates.  The  journey  across  the  country  was  not 
only  very  fatiguing  and  expensive,  but  at  times  (juite  impossible,  and  few  could 
afford  to  make  the  long  journey. 

In  order  to  obviate  so  long  a  journey.  Mr.  Blanchard  wrote  to  the  Superin- 
tendent at  Danville,  stating  the  circumstances,  and  requested  him  to  appoint  JMr. 
Patton  an  Examining  Committee  for  the  north  part  of  Vermilion  county.  The 
superintendent  returned  an  appointment  to  INIessrs.  Blanchard  and  Patton  as 
such  committee.  This  facilitated  the  work  very  much  and  was  hailed  with 
deliglit  l)y  all  aspirants  for  teachers'  positions.  Mr.  Blanchard  being  the 
scholar  of  tliis  committee,  did  the  examining,  while  David  Patton,  who  was  a  live 
business  man.  attended  somewhat  to  the  general  business  connected  with  the  office. 

Among  the  first  applicants  for  certificate  luuler  the  new  dispensation  was 
Mrs.  Salina  Allen,  an  old  and  experienced  teacher  of  Whiteside  county,  and  sister 
of  the  Rev.  Blanchard  and  President  Blanchard,  of  Knox  College. 

Mrs.  Allen  was  employed  to  teach  the  first  school  taught  in  Paxton.  Among 
her  pupils  were  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stites,  0.  B.  Taft,  who  was  after- 
ward a  member  of  the  firm  of  Pearsons  &  Taft.  ]\Irs.  Allen  taught  at  different 
times  with  much  success  in  the  Patton  and  Stoner  districts. 

About  this  time,  June,  1859,  Ford  county  was  organized,  and  the  Rev. 
Blanchard  was  elected  the  first  county  Superintendent  of  Schools  in  the  new 
county. 

In  the  summer  of  1859,  ]\Iiss  Mary  A.  Blanchard,  daughter  of  President 
Blanchard,  was  employed  to  teach  in  the  Patton  district. 

New  districts  were  now  rapidly  organized,  one  near  tlie  place  where  Elliott 
is  now  located  in  Dix  township,  and  Mrs.  Allen,  who  had  been  teaching  with  such 
marked  success  in  nearly  all  the  schools  in  the  new  county,  was  employed  to 
teach. 

In  1860,  a  district  was  organized  in  the  western  part  of  Dix  township.  A 
portion  of  the  territory  forming  this  school  district  was  taken  from  the  eastern 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  235 

part  of  Drummer  Grove  township,  and  was  therefore  called  Union  District. 
Harve}^  Nash  was  the  first  teacher  in  this  school,  and  was  followed  by  Mr. 
Pierpont,  who  finished  his  term,  Mr.  Nash  having  enlisted  and  gone  to  Washing- 
ton to  take  up  arms  in  the  defeiLse  of  his  country. 

Other  teachers  in  this  district  were  Miss  Carver,  ]\Irs.  LeFevre  and  ]\Iiss 
Mary  Pierpont,  who  married  Henry  C.  Hall,  of  Paxton. 

The  country  lying  northwest  of  Paxton,  and  now  known  as  Wall  township, 
early  attracted  settlers  to  its  fertile,  rolling  prairies.  But  the  settlers  were  so 
much  scattered  that  no  united  efi^ort  was  made  to  secure  educational  advantages 
till  the  year  1861.  In  this  year,  a  small  schoolhouse  was  l)uilt  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  26,  in  the  Noel  neighborhood,  and  is  still  known  as  the  Noel 
school,  although  it  has  been  moved  south  one  mile,  and  is  now  located  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  35.  Mr.  William  Noel  was  the  first  township 
treasurer  of  Wall  township.  INIiss  Smith,  from  McLean  county,  was  the  first 
teacher  to  officiate  in  the  Noel  school. 

After  Mrs.  Allen  closed  her  term  of  school  in  Dix  township,  she  was  engaged 
to  teach  during  the  year  1861  in  a  new  district  in  the  western  part  of  Wall 
township,  organized  by  Mr.  Lytle,  who  afterward  was  a  respected  citizen  of 
Paxton.  This  school  was  taught  in  a  log  house  belonging  to  Mr.  Lytle.  Mrs. 
D.  Denman,  of  Paxton,  was  one  of  the  first  pupils.  In  the  summer  of  1862,  a 
school  was  taught  in  this  district  in  the  house  of  John  Morris,  by  Miss  Katy 
Bonesell.  No  schoolhouse  was  built  in  this  district  till  1863,  when  a  small 
schoolhouse  was  erected,  and  euphoniously  christened  "String  Town  School." 

Mrs.  Allen  was  an  earnestly  religious  woman,  and  in  addition  to  her  school 
duties,  found  time  to  organize  the  first  Sabbath  school  in  Paxton,  1)eing  also  the 
first  in  Ford  county. 

During  the  summer  of  1859>  Miss  Loretta  Goodrich  taught  the  first  school 
in  the  Trickle  Grove  schoolhouse,  about  five  miles  southeast  of  Paxton. 

A  small  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1859,  in  Paxton,  and  Miss  Jennie  Lyon, 
who  afterwards  became  Mm.  Samuel  L.  Day,  was  the  first  teacher.  This 
schoolhouse  was  soon  outgrown,  sold  for  a  dwelling-house,  and  a  larger  one  was 
built.  ]\Ir.  and  Myh.  Amyx  were  the  teachers  here  for  some  time.  Soon  this 
schoolhouse  also  became  too  small,  and  was  sold  to  the  First  Swedish  Lutheran 
congregation,  and  was,  in  1872,  sold  to  the  Baptist  body.  The  nucleus  of  the 
old  frame  building  on  the  present  schoolhouse  site  on  East  Center  street  was 
then  erected,  and  was  added  to  from  time  to  time,  as  the  occasion  recjuired. 

In  1890  the  north  wing  of  the  present  brick  building  on  this  site  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  in  1896  was  completed  at  a  cost  of  about 


236  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

fifteen  thousand  dollars,  wliic-h  makes  a.  complete  and  commodious  school  building 
for  the  high  school  and  east  side  grades. 

In  1902.  by  a  vote  of  the  people  it  was  decided  to  build  a  briciv  l)uilding  on 
the  west  side.  Accordingly  the  beautiful  West  Lawn  building  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

Of  the  teachers  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  history  of  this  portion 
of  the  country,  IMessrs.  Patton  and  Blanchard  and  IMrs.  Allen  deserve  the  honor 
of  doing  the  pioneer  work. 

We  have  dwelt  upon  the  details  of  the  work  done  in  this  locality,  not  because 
it  is  of  greater  importance  than  that  done  elsewhere,  but  because  the  first  school 
worlc  was  done  here,  and  gradually  spread  over  the  entire  county  from  this  point. 

The  western  portion  of  the  county,  consisting  of  Drummer,  Grove,  Sullivant 
and  Peach  Orchard  townships,  early  gave  attention  to  educational  work.  In  the 
winter  of  1854-55,  Dr.  Davis  removed  from  Cheeney's  Grove,  McLean  county,  to 
the  western  portion  of  Ford  county,  and  was  for  several  years  the  only  settler. 
That  country  in  time  attracted  its  share  of  new  comers,  and  in  1862  Dr.  Davis 
found  several  families,  neighbors  to  himself,  with  no  educational  advantages. 
Dr.  Davis  employed  a  teacher  in  the  winter  in  1863-64,  to  give  instruction  to 
his  children,  and,  being  withal  a  generous  man,  he  invited  the  neighbors' 
children  to  be  educated  with  his  family. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  this  portion  of  the  county  was  built  in  1863,  in  the 
southeast  part  of  Drummer  Grove  township,  and  is  popularly  known  as  the 
Wantwood  School. 

In  the  summer  of  1865.  two  new  school  districts  were  organized,  tlie  Powers 
Farm  school  and  the  Drunnner  Grove  school.  The  schoolhouse  known  as  the 
Powers  Farm  school  answered  the  threefold  purpose  of  schoolhouse.  church  and 
public  hall  for  several  years.  In  1870,  the  Powers  Farm  schoolhouse  was 
removed  and  still  serves  as  a  dwelling  house.  The  following  year,  1871,  a  new 
and  larger  building  was  erected  in  its  place,  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Union 
School  District  No.  4. 

Before  either  of  the  a])ove  mentioned  houses  were  built.  Miss  Jennie  Frew, 
of  Paxton,  taught  in  a  small  farm  house  on  the  farm  of  ^Ir.  Asa  Canterbury, 
1865. 

The  first  school  officers  elected  were  Asa  Canterbui-\-  treasurer;  L.  Lavett, 
C.  Palmer  and  J.  Warner,  trustees;  Thomas  Green,  Lewis  Weakman  and 
Caleb  McKeever,  directors. 

The  first  teacher  in  the  Union  District  was  ]\liss  pjiuiiia  Chirk,  a  lady  witliout 
a  finger  or  tluimb  on  cither  hand,  but  by  means  of  an  elastic  band  around  her 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  237 

wrist,  undci-  which  she  slipjied  a  penholder  or  pencil,  was  able  to  write  a  very 
flood  hand.  By  securing  a  switch  in  the  same  unique  manner,  she  was  enabled 
to  give  the  obstreperous  youths  as  nnich  of  the  birch  as  was  tliought  necessary 
to  aid  an  elementary  education. 

The  Drummer  Grove  sclioolhouse  was  erected  in  1866,  and  in  1872  was 
removed  to  Gibson  City,  and  has  since  then  grown  into  an  efficient  graded  school. 
Of  the  early  teachers  in  the  Drummer  Grove  schoolhouse,  we  will  mention  only 
a  few:  Arabella  M.  Davis,  daughter  of  Dr.  Davis,  before  mentioned,  and 
afterward  j\Irs.  Weaver  White;  A.  F.  Irwin  and  Weaver  White. 

The  original  Drummer  Grove  schoolhouse,  which  had  been  moved  to  Gibson 
City  in  1872,  soon  became  too  small  to  accommodate  the  rapidly  increasing 
school  population  of  the  enterprising  young  city,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to 
provide  a  larger  building.  The  people  of  Gibson  City,  therefore,  who,  by  the 
way,  were  never  known  to  do  anything  in  a  half-way  manner,  erected,  in  1874.  a 
large  and  substantial  brick  building,  at  a  cost  of  eight  thousand  dollars,  with 
foul"  elegant  rooms.  But  so  rapid  was  the  increase  in  population  that  it  became 
necessary  to  provide  more  room.  Another  schoolhouse  was  erected  in  1882,  and 
Gibson  City  is  now  provided  with  school  buildings  second  to  none  in  Eastern 
Illinois. 

The  entire  Pan  Handle,  consisting  of  Lyman,  Brenton,  Pella-  Mona  and 
Rogers  townships,  was  known  by  the  name  of  Town  of  Stockton  until  the  year 
1858. 

In  1858.  a  petition  was  sent  to  John  C.  Short,  who  was  county  clerk  of 
Vermilion  county,  asking  that  notices  be  issued  and  forwarded  to  John  R.  Lewis, 
to  set  off  town  26,  range  9.  This  was  done-  and  the  town  of  Brenton  dates  its 
organization  from  this  time. 

About  tlie  same  time,  1858,  efforts  were  made  to  have  the  territory  south  of 
Brenton  and  north  of  Wall  set  apart  as  a  distinct  township,  forming  what  is 
now  Lyman  township. 

A  meeting  to  elect  township  trustees  was  held  at  the  residence  of  John  R. 
Lewis,  January  1.  1859,  and  J.  E.  Davis,  A.  J.  Bartlett  and  Saul  C.  Burt  were 
elected  township  trustees.  This  was  the  first  step  toward  popular  education 
in  the  Pan  Handle,  and  from  tliis  nucleus  the  work  has  spread  over  the  entire 
nortliern  part  of  the  county.  The  trustees  met  for  the  purpose  of  organizing, 
February  9,  1859,  at  the  house  of  A.  J.  Bartlett.  After  the  organization  had  been 
completed,  the  towoaship  of  Brenton  was  divided  into  two  school  districts,  the 
south  half  forming  District  No.  1,  and  the  north  half  District  No.  2.  John  R. 
Lewis  was  appointed  township  treasurer  for  Brenton  township,  and  also  received 


238  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

a  commission  from  Superintendent  Blanchard  to  examine  applicants  for 
teachers'  certificates.  Mr.  Lewis  filled  the  latter  office  until  the  election  of 
James  Brown,  1869.  It  was  further  provided  at  this  meeting,  that  election 
notices  for  a  school  election  in  District  No.  1  be  postech  and  an  election  held  in 
order  that  something  tangible  might  be  done  in  securing  school  privileges. 
This  election  was  held  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Titus.  ^Monday,  February  21,  1859, 
but  was  adjourned  to  February  28.  At  this  adjourned  meeting,  John  R.  Lewis, 
District  No.  1,  Brenton  township.  Nothing  more,  however,  was  done  in  secur- 
Mark  Parsons  and  Ira  Z.  Congdon  w^ere  elected  the  first  Board  of  Directors  in 
ing  a  school  at  this  time.  There  were  no  schoolhouses ;  the  dwelling  houses  were 
small  and  the  obstacles  that  hindered  school  work  almost  nnsurmonntable. 

J.  E.  Davis  and  A.  J.  Bartlett,  trustees,  had  moved  from  the  township 
shortly  after  their  election  in  the  summer  of  1859,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
elect  other  trustees  in  their  place.  Accordingly  a  meeting  for  the  election  of 
trustees  was  called  for  February  1,  1860.  At  this  election  L.  T.  Bishop  and  T. 
W.  Pope  were  elected.  So  far  schools  existed  in  theory  only,  and  as  no  educa- 
tion was  diffused  in  this  way,  great  efforts  were  now  made  to  have  a  school  in 
reality.  To  further  this  end,  John  R.  Lewis  offered  his  shed  lean-to  for  a  school- 
house,  which  was  gladly  accepted. 

A  Miss  Annie  E.  Hobbis,  afterward  Mrs.  Conrow.  wife  of  County  Superin- 
tendent Conrow,  was  the  first  teacher  in  the  Pan  Handle,  beginning  the  school 
the  first  ]\Ionday  in  December,  1859,  and  continued  four  months.  ]\Ir.  Lewis, 
in  addition  to  giving  his  lean-to  for  school  purposes,  furnished  the  fuel  to  keep 
the  pupils  w^arm,  and  board  for  the  teacher  for  four  months.  For  this  he 
received  the  very  liberal  compensation  of  twenty-four  dollars. 

The  following  summer,  1860,  the  firet  schoolhouse  in  the  Pan  Handle  was 
built  on  the  farm  of  ]\Tr.  Wagner,  and  is  to  this  day  known  as  the  Jacob  Wagner 
School.  This  was  a  small  building,  sixteen  by  twenty  feet,  l)ut  answered  the 
purpose  quite  well.  IMiss  Hobbis,  who  had  made  a  record  as  a  good  teacher  the 
winter  before,  was  engaged  to  teach  the  pupils  that  gathered  at  this  diminutive 
college. 

A  small  village.  Piper  City,  had  sprung  up  in  District  No.  2,  in  the  northern 
part  of  Brenton  township^  aiul  it  became  necessary  to  provide  means  for  educa- 
tion there.  A  small  schoolhouse,  probably  the  smallest  ever  built,  twelve  by 
twelve  feet,  was  erected  in  1865.  This  house  was  several  years  afterward 
displaced  by  a  larger  and  more  convenient  school  building.  The  first  teacher 
here  was  Miss  Mary  Thompson.       After  the  close  of  Miss  Thompson's  term,  a 


HISTORY    OF  FORD   COUNTY  239 

IMiss  Brown,  who  became  Mrs.  MeElhiney,  taught  in  the  viUao-e  school.  From 
this  small  beginniiiii;'  has  grown  the  present  efificient  graded  school  of  Piper  City. 

In  1900,  by  a  vote  of  the  people  the  schoolhouse  site  was  changed  to  the 
south  side  and  the  present  fine  six  room  brick  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

Lyman  townsliip  was  not  far  behind  her  sister  township,  Brenton,  in  educa- 
tional work.  About  the  same  time  when  Brenton  township  was  organized,  S.  K. 
Marston  sent  in  a  petition  to  have  Lyman  township  organized,  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  two  townships  was  consunmiated  about  the  same  time.  In  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Lyman  township  are  several  sections  of  broken,  rolling  land, 
wliich  were  early  settled  by  people  from  Connecticut.  They  chose  this  because 
it  stood  in  such  a  decided  contrast  to  the  surrounding  prairie,  which  to  them 
looked  more  like  a  great  expanse  of  marsh  than  land  fit  for  agricultural  purposes, 
and  was  more  in  conformity  with  the  nature  of  the  country  in  their  Connecticut 
homes.  These  persons,  eager  for  educational  advantages,  organized  a  school 
district  in  1859,  and  Mrs.  S.  K.  Marston  was  engaged  to  give  the  necessary 
instruction.  This  first  school  was  taught  in  an  upper  room  of  Mr.  Marston 's 
dwelling.  Among  the  pupils  was  G.  P.  Lyman,  brother  of  S.  B.  Lyman,  ex- 
sheriff  of  Ford  county.  A  schoolhouse  was  built  in  this  settlement  in  the 
summer  of  1860,  and  was  named  District  No.  1.  Soon  after  this,  a  district  was 
organized  two  miles  south.  This  was  christened  District  No.  2,  and  is  popularly 
knoM^i  as  the  Larkin's  District.  No  schoolhouse  was  built  in  this  district  for 
some  time,  but  W.  S.  Larkins  came  to  the  rescue  by  giving  the  use  of  one  of  his 
rooms  for  school  purposes.  Here  Miss  Alice  J.  Jewell  scattered  the  jewels  of  an 
elementary  education  among  the  rising  generation.  The  second  term  of  school 
in  this  district  was  taught  in  a  small  stable,  converted  into  a  school  room,  and 
Miss  Jewell  again  presided  as  teacher.  In  1863  or  1864  a  schoolhouse  was 
built,  and  one  of  the  early  teachers  was  the  congenial  George  H.  Thompson, 
extensively  known  throughout  the  entire  central  part  of  the  county. 

The  educational  work  having  now  fairly  begun,  rapidly  spread  over  the 
entire  northern  portion  of  the  county.  It  is  impossible  in  brief  space  allotted 
to  us  to  make  mention  of  all  townships,  and  furthermore,  the  early  history  of 
some  of  the  townships  is  so  intimately  interwoven  with  the  history  of  adjoining 
townships  that  to  separate  them  would  rob  them  of  nuich  of  their  interest. 

On  April  18,  1870,  the  first  election  for  district  No.  1,  township  24,  range  8, 
New  Melvin  District,  was  held  at  the  residence  of  Charles  Phillips.  There  were 
only  five  votes  cast  in  the  district,  August  Buckholz,  Charles  Phillips  and  Wil- 
liam Lackey  were  elected  as  the  first  board  of  directors.    In  the  fall  of  1870  a 


240  HISTORY   OF  FOED    COUNTY 

small  schoolhouse  was  built  on  the  southeast  eorner  of  section  2  and  in  April, 
1871,  the  first  term  of  school  began  with  JMiss  Hattie  E.  ]\Iathis  as  teacher. 

Miss  Clara  B.  Husten  was  the  next  teacher,  followed  by  W.  IT.  Thompson 
who  taught  several  terms. 

In  the  spring  of  1875  at  a  special  election  it  was  voted  to  purchase  a  new 
site  in  the  village  of  ]\Ielvin  and  to  erect  a  new  schoolhouse.  This  building  was 
added  to  from  time  to  time  until  it  became  a  six  room  Imildiug  and  served  the 
purpose  of  the  district  until  1903  when  the  site  was  changed  to  its  present 
location  and  a  beautiful  six  room  brick  building  erected  at  a  cost  of  twelve  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars. 


GRADED    SCHOOLS. 

Ford  county  has  at  the  present  time  thirteen  graded  schools,  and  five  high 
schools.  One  at  Paxton,  the  county  seat,  one  at  Gibson  City,  Piper  City,  Melvin 
and  Sibley.  The  schools  at  Paxton  and  Gibson  City  have  for  a  number  of  years 
ranked  among  the  best  graded  schools  in  eastern  Illinois.  The  work  of  these 
schools  has  been  so  thorough  and  broad  as  to  fit  their  graduates  sufficiently  to 
participate  in  the  practical  affairs  of  life  with  great  efficiency. 

The  graded  school  buildings  are  not  only  substantial  and  roomy,  but  attract- 
ive and  comfortable. 


COUNTRY  SCHOOLS. 

There  are  ninety-nine  district  schools  in  Ford  county,  although  Ford  was 
the  last  county  organized  in  the  state,  her  district  schools,  in  the  efficiency  of 
the  work  done,  are  fully  equal  to  the  schools  of  some  counties  much  older. 
"With  but  very  few  exceptions,  the  school  buildings  are  Avell  fitted  for  llie  pur- 
pose they  are  intended  to  serve,  and  where  the  schoolhouses  are  small  and  old, 
strenuous  efforts  are  being  made  to  effect  the  needed  improvements.  There  is 
no  doubt,  that  in  course  of  time,  the  district  schools  of  Foi'd  county  will  ho 
equal  to  the  best  district  schools  in  the  state. 


SCHOOL  STATISTICS. 

There  are  thirteen  graded  scliools  and  one  hundred  and  nine  luigraded 
schools  in  Ford  county.  Seventy-five  of  these  schools  have  libraries  and  among 
them  are  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirtv-three  books.    In  these  schools  are 


METHODIST  CHURCH.  PAXTON 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  243 

four  thousand  one  lumdred  and  seventy-six  pupils,  taught  by  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  teachers.  The  average  monthly  wage  for  the  male  teacher  is  seventy- 
four  dollars  and  forty-seven  cents ;  for  the  female,  forty-ojie  dollars  and  ten 
cents.  The  value  of  school  property  in  the  county  is  two  hundred  and  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-five  dollars ;  of  the  libraries,  four  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-five  dollars ;  apparatus,  seven  thousand  one  hundred 
seventy-seven  dollars.  Total  amount  paid  teachers  in  1907,  sixty-two  thou- 
sand and  seventv-nine  dollars  and  sixtv-seven  cents. 


CHURCH  HISTORY. 

METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH    OF    FORD    COUNTY. 

The  rapid  development  of  this  western  country  and  unparalleled  increase 
of  the  population  of  the  United  States  is  a  marvel  among  nations.  But  the 
genius  and  polity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  has  well  adapted  itself 
to  this  age  of  wonders ;  for,  while  the  nation 's  population  has  increased  from 
about  three  millions  in  1784  to  seventy  millions  in  1908,  the  growth  of  this 
denomination  has  been  even  more  marvelous.  Under  her  system  "energetic, 
migratory,  itinerant — ex  tempore — like  the  population  itself."  as  soon  as  the 
settlers  stretched  their  tents  or  erected  their  cabins,  they  were  furnished  the 
privileges  of  the  gospel.  Hence  we  would  expect  to  see  this  church  early  repre- 
sented in  the  history  of  Ford  county.  There  are  thirteen  organizd  societies 
in  the  county,  viz:  Pleasant  Grove,  Clarence,  Paxton,  Meharry's  Chapel, 
Elliott,  Center  S.  H.,  Gibson  City,  Sibley,  Kemp  ton,  Cabery,  Piper  City,  Rob- 
erts and  ]\[elvin,  with  an  aggregate  membership  of  about  eight  hundred.  There 
are  six  church  buildings  and  three  parsonages  valued  at  twenty-three  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  dollars ;  thirteen  Sunday  schools  and  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-four  scholars,  and  two  union  schools,  in  the  work  of  which 
this  denomination  shares. 

Pleasant  Grove — The  first  IMethodist  Episcopal  Society  in  this  territory 
was  organized  in  1848,  at  Trickel  Grove,  in  John  Dopps'  log  cabin,  consisting 
of  John  Dopps,  class  leader,  Elihu  Daniels,  Matthew  Elliott,  Thomas  Short  and 
members  of  their  families. 

This  was  then  an  appointment  in  the  Danville  circuit.  Services  were  held 
regularly  in  this  humble  home  until  1857,  when  Flagg's  schoolhouse  was  erected 
and  that  became  the   regular  preaching  place  and  continued  to  be  until  the 


244  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Pleasant  Grove  church  was  built  in  1869,  very  near  the  spot  where  Dopps'  log 
cabin  stood.  This  society  and  tliat  of  Clarence  formed  a  part  of  the  Rankin 
circuit. 

Paxton — As  early  as  the  latter  part  of  1856.  services  were  held  occasionally 
at  tlie  residence  of  Benjamin  Stites,  Paxton.  Illinois,  and  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  ^la}^,  1857,  Rev.  Ilaunn  organized  a  society  at  the  schoolhouse.  There 
appeared  on  record  the  names  of  IMrs.  Stites,  Jonathan  Covolt,  P.  W.  Cooley 
and  wife,  ]\Irs.  Howard  Case,  Jonas  Randolph  and  wife,  IMr.  and  INIrs.  01m- 
stead,  Henry  Alvah  and  wife,  and  others. 

In  September,  1857,  Rev.  E.  Dunham,  father  of  J.  C.  Dunham,  formerly 
editor  of  the  Paxton  Register,  was  appointed  to  the  Paxton  circuit,  then  com- 
posed of  the  following  societies,  viz :  Paxton,  Pleasant  Grove,  Loda,  and 
Patton's  schoolhouse.  At  the  first  quarterly  conference  there  were  present  Rob- 
ert Blackstock,  Francis  Meharry,  John  Dopps,  ]\tatthew  Elliott,  John  P.  Dopps, 
Jonathan  Covolt  and  Jonas  Randolph. 

Rev.  Dunham  did  valuable  services  in  1857-58,  and,  having  settled  on  a 
farm  north  of  town,  continued  to  be  an  active  and  honorable  member  of  the 
church  until  his  death.  The  circuit  was  served  consecutively  by  Rev.  H.  H. 
McVey,  two  years ;  Rev.  M.  Butler,  two  years ;  Rev.  ]\I.  ]M.  Davidson,  two  years. 
At  this  time,  1864,  the  law  of  the  church  was  changed,  extending  the  pastoral 
limit  to  three  years. 

During  the  pastorate  of  M.  M.  Davidson,  in  1863-64,  an  edifice  was  erected, 
at  a  cost  of  eight  thousand  dollars.  Its  audience  room  furnished  about  four 
hundred  sittings,  and  the  basement  was  well  arranged  into  Sunday  school  and 
class  rooms.  This  society  had  a  resident  membership  of  two  hundred,  fairly 
represented  by  such  men  as  Robert  Blackstock,  A.  C  Thompson.  IMerton  Dun- 
lap,  J.  M.  Hanley,  J.  N.  Bondurant,  John  Spindler,  J.  P.  IMcCracken,  N.  B. 
Day,  F.  and  C.  Meharry,  James  Mercer,  R.  S.  Hall,  II.  C.  Rawlings,  L.  Corblcy> 
E.  F.  Earl,  and  J.  S.  Webber  and  J.  B.  Congram,  local  preachers.  It  sus- 
tained a  Sunday  school,  under  the  direction  of  Merton  Dunlap  as  superin- 
tendent (he  held  that  position  for  many  years)  that  would  compare  favorably 
with  the  best  in  enthusiasm  and  thoroughness  of  work.  They  had  also  a  good 
parsonage  property,  well  located,  valued  at  one  thousand  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars, secured  under  the  labors  of  the  pastor. 

In  lOO:},  a  new  church  edifice  was  ])uilt,  at  a  cost  of  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars.      The  pipe  organ  cost  two  thousand  dollars. 

Meharry  Chapel — There  had  lieen  services  occasionally  at  David  Patton's 
residence.   Ten  IMile  Grove,  for  some  years   previous  to  1857,   when   Stoner's 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  245 

sehoolhonse  became  the  regular  appointment  until  the  erection  of  Meharry's 
Chapel,  four  miles  west  of  Paxton,  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1864. 
This  was  the  first  church  built  in  Ford  county.  It  cost  fourteen  hundred  dol- 
lars, which  was  principally  contributed  by  Robert  Blackstock  and  F.  Meharr;- 
who,  it  should  be  remembered,  contributed  also  very  largely  toward  the  erectioti 
of  the  church  in  Paxton  about  tlie  same  time. 

Gibson — Like  many  railroad  towns  of  the  prairie,  Gibson  sprang  up  as  if 
by  magic.  Methodism,  however,  was  early  on  the  ground,  and  had  been  as 
energetic  and  enterprising  as  the  village.  The  first  regular  service  was  held 
in  the  depot,  and  afterward  in  Gilmore's  Hall,  until  the  church  building  was 
erected,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Job  Ingram,  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of  about 
two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  Such  had  been  the  growth  of  the  society 
that  the  church  building  was  too  small  to  accommodate  either  its  congregations 
or  Sunday  school.  The  membership  of  the  society  is  largia  and  it  sustains  the 
largest  Sunday  school  in  the  county. 

Sibley — The  Sibley  society  was  organized  in  1879.  Rev.  M.  C.  Wilcox 
was  its  first  pastor,  and  the  following  names  appear  on  the  record  as  original 
members:  W.  A.  Bicket  and  wife,  W.  A.  Pawley  and  wife,  John  Smale  and 
John  Smale. 

Center  schoolhouse  is  located  in  "Wall  township  about  four  miles  north 
of  Meharry's  Chapel  in  the  midst  of  a  well-to-do  and  intelligent  farming  com- 
munity. While  preaching  services  have  been  held  here  for  a  few  years  occasion- 
ally, it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1882,  that  the  organization 
was  effected  by  J.  L.  Miller,  a  very  promising  young  man,  who  traveled 
the  Loda  circuit  under  the  presiding  elder. 

Roberts  and  Melvin — The  Roberts  and  IMelvin  circuit  represents  church 
and  personal  property  valued  at  five  thousand  seven  hundred  dollars. 

FIRST   CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH,   PAXTON. 

This  church  was  organized  January  16,  1858.  At  this  time  the  city  of 
Paxton  was  called  Prospect  City.  The  church  was  organized  in  the  name 
of  the  Union  Church  of  Christ  of  the  Middle  Fork  of  Vermilion  river.  Both 
the  names  of  the  church  and  the  city  were  subsequently  changed.  The  one 
to  the  First  Congregational,  and  the  other  to  Paxton.  Rev.  Charles  Granger, 
of  Urbana,  Champaign  county,  Illinois,  was  invited  by  Rev.  William  W. 
Blanchard  and  others  to  come  to  this  new  field  and  preach  and  labor  to  build 
\\\)  a  church  of  the  Congregational  order.       He  came  in  the  spring  of  1857 


246  IIISTOKY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  labored  faithfully  and  snccessfnlly,  preaehiny'  in  the  schoolhouse.  a  small 
bnildinsr,  now  finished  into  a  private  residence,  and  also  at  different  places  on 
the  south  side  of  the  IMiddle  fork  of  the  Vermilion  river  in  private  residences. 

His  labors  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  church  above  named.  Owing 
to  the  extent  of  the  field,  all  the  friends  interested  in  the  church  were  not 
present  at  its  organization.  But  eight  persons  entered  into  covenant  and  con- 
stituted what  is  now  the  First  Congregational  church  of  Paxton.  The  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  house  of  William  A.  Goodrich.  Rev.  Charles  Granger 
Avas  moderator,  and  opened  the  exercises  with  religious  services.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  names  of  the  persons  who  entered  into  covenant :  Charles  Granger, 
E.  Granger,  William  W.  Blanchard,  Elizabeth  Blanchard,  Charles  Wall,  Wil- 
liam A.  Goodrich,  Betsy  A.  Goodrich  and  Loretta  Goodrich.  Mr.  Granger 
continued  to  preach  for  about  four  years.  His  labors  were  blessed  with  prec- 
ious revival  influences,  and  quite  a  number  were  added  to  the  church,  some  of 
whom  are  still  valuable  members  of  the  church,  and  others  of  precious  memory 
have  left  us  to  join  the  glorious  church  above.  I\Ir.  Granger  was  attacked  with 
paralysis,  which  terminated  his  labors.  The  church  w^as  then  left  without 
preaching,  and  brother  William  W.  Blanchard  induced  Rev.  E.  0.  Tade,  of 
Loda,  to  preach  for  us  once  a  month  at  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  until  we  could  make 
permanent  arrangements.  Mr.  Tade  was  a  very  young  man ;  his  Avork  was 
good  and  well  received.  Brother  David  IMartin,  who  came  to  us  from  La  Salle 
county,  recommended  Rev.  George  Schlosser.  of  Lockport,  as  an  able  and  faith- 
ful minister. 

After  Brother  Schlosser 's  resignation.  Rev.  William  Kopp,  professor  in 
Augustana  College,  was  employed  as  a  supply  until  a  pastor  could  be  obtained. 
Professor  Kopp  was  a  man  of  unusual  intelligence  and  amialulity;  well  did 
he  fill  his  calling.  There  were  none  but  respected  and  loved  him.  lie  diml 
in  Pittsburg,  soon  after,  a  martyr  to  his  faithfulness  in  the  service  of  Christ. 
At  this  time  Professor  Bliss,  the  singing  evangelist,  who  perished  at  Ashtabula, 
Ohio,  who  has  a  monument  erected  to  his  memory  by  the  Sal)bath  school  chil- 
dren who  sung  his  songs,  i-econimcnded  Rev.  Israel  Brundage,  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  Kirkwood,  Broome  c(miity.  New  York,  a  suita])le  niiiii  for 
pastor  ;iii(i  available.  It  resulted  in  a  cori-espondence.  the  extension  of  a  unan- 
imous call,  and  an  acceptance.  Brother  Brundage  connnenced  his  labors  in 
April,  ]8(w,  and  closed  his  pastorate  Januiii-y  1.  1874,  wanting  ])ut  little  of 
seven  years. 

Soon  after  the  i-csigiinlion  of  Bi-oUiei-  liniiuhige.  Rev.  Theodore  Clifton 
was  called  to  suppl\'  the  pulpit.       lie  resigned  liis  pastorate  October  31,  1875, 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  247 

to  accept  a  call  to  the  Slayflower  Congregational  (-Imrch  of  St.  Louis,  IMissoiiri. 
After  quite  a  period  had  ehipsed  in  which  there  was  only  occasional  preaching, 
Rev.  B.  F.  Sargeant  received  and  accepted  a  call  to  become  pastor  of  the 
church  June  20,  1877,  and  resigned  his  pastorate  Noveiiiber  15,  1879,  a  little 
over  two  years'  continuance.  It  was  Brother  Sargeant 's  first  charge.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  promise.  Rev.  B.  F.  Worrel,  who  was  residing  in  Paxton, 
supplied  the  pulpit  until  the  church  could  obtain  a  pastor.  On  October  6, 
1880,  a  call  was  extended  to  Rev.  M.  S.  Crasswell  to  become  the  pastor  of  the 
church  and  was  accepted.       He  resigned  September  17,  1882. 


THE   UNITED   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH,   PAXTON. 

Early  in  the  history  of  Paxton  (then  Prairie  City)  some  United  Presby- 
terians, feeling  the  want  of  a  public  worship  according  to  their  own  conscien- 
tious convictions,  united  their  efforts,  and,  in  1856,  secured  the  services  of 
Rev.  J.  P.  Smart  (Associate  Reformed)  of  Xenia,  Ohio,  who  preached  the  first 
sermon  in  the  grove  called  "Ten  ]\Iile  Grove"  near  the  Hanley  homestead. 
They  sang  at  that  meeting  the  forty-sixth  antl  one  hundred  and  twenty-first 
Psalms.  Mr.  Smart  remained  and  preached  the  next  Sabbath  at  Loda  in  a 
schoolhoiLse.  ]\Irs.  Margaret  Hanley,  who  was  visiting,  was  present  at  l)()fh 
of  these  meetings.  An  effort  was  made  at  the  meeting  of  the  church  board 
in  1857  to  secure  aid  and  supplies,  but  failed.  Application  was  then  made 
to  the  Bloomington  Presbytery,  and  they  sent  an  aged  man.  Rev.  Pollock,  who 
preached  two  Sabbaths,  and  that  was  all  of  the  preaching  until  the  spring  of 

1858,  when  Rev.  Hugh  McHatten  visited  and  preached  for  two  Sabbaths,  morn- 
ing and  niglit,  in  a  little  schoolhouse  (the  first  in  Paxton).  During  this  year 
application  was  made  to  the  general  assembly  for  aid  and  for  a  minister,  but 
again  failed.  Again  application  was  made  to  the  Presbytery,  and  were  su])- 
plied  about  one-third  of  the  time  until  the  last  of  the  year.  The  supplies  were 
Revs.  Brownlee,  Black,  Jeffries  and  Pinkerton.  At  a  called  meeting  of  the 
Bloomington  Presbytery  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Illinois,  held  in 
Peoria,  August  23,  1859,  J.  AV.  Pinkerton  was  appointed  to  organize  a  congre- 
gation at  Prospect  City,  Ford  county,  Illinois.  On  the  first  Sabbath  of  Octo- 
ber, 1859,  he  preached  by  appointment,   and  on   ^Monday,  the  3d  of  October, 

1859,  the  organization  took  place  at  the  residence  of  Alexander  Hanley.  The 
following  persons  were  admitted  as  members  on  certificate :  Hugh  Andrews, 
ruling  elder,  and  Ruth  Antlrcws,  his  wife;  Eliza  Law,  their  daughter,  all  from 


248  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

the  United  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Xenia,  Ohio;  from  the  same  congre- 
gation, A.  H.  Hanley  and  Elizabeth  K.  Hanley,  his  wife;  Miss  Ella  Hanley 
(afterward  Mrs.  McElroy)   his  sister;  Margaret  Hanley,  his  mother;  and  Miss 
Belle   Alexander,   from  the   United   Presbj'terian   congregation   of   Cedarville, 
Ohio.       ]\Ir.  Hugh  Andrews  was  elected  elder.       The  following  came  into  the 
church  by  profession,  as  they  did  not  have  their  certificates  in  possession :  Alex- 
ander L.  Elliott,  William  McClelland,  James  Canning  and  IMary  Canning,  his 
wife.       Then  the  following  persons  were  chosen  ruling  elders:     A.  H.  Hanley, 
A.  L.  Elliott  and  William  McClelland.       At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Presby- 
tery, Rev.  Pinkerton  was  examined  and  ordained.       Next  Saturday,  October  8, 
prior  to  communion,  J.  ]\I.  Hanley  was  admitted  by  examination.     Rev.  Hugh 
McHatten  was  sent  once  a  year  to  Paxton  to  preach.       This  was  now  1860. 
Two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  was  received  from  the  board  and  now  services 
were  held  and  regular  prayer  meetings  in  Hanley 's  Hall.       In  March,   1861, 
Rev.  R.  IMcCracken  was  called.       There  were  nineteen  or  twenty  members.  The 
church  grew  rapidly,  and  June  29  following,  there  were  thirty-eight  communi- 
cants and  twenty-two  families.       Rev.  John  Trusdale  was  next  called.       The 
courthouse  now  being  finished,  members  worshiped  there  till  the  church  edifice 
was  built.      Union  prayer  meetings  were  held  those  days.       During  Rev.  Trus 
dale's  ministry  the  church  edifice  was  dedicated  in  1867.       The  dedication  ser- 
mon was  preached  by  Dr.  Wallace,  then  president  of  IMonmouth  College.     The 
audience  was  very  large  and  liberally  assisted  in  wijung  out  a  portion  of  the 
indebtedness.        The   original   cost   of  the   building   was   about   nine   thousand, 
which  was  entirely  erased  during  the  ministration  of  Rev.   E.   D.   Campbell. 
In   1871,   Rev.   Trusdale  was  released,   leaving  one  hundred   and  seventy-five 
members.       The  church  had  supplies  until  1872,  when  a  call  was  made  to  Rev. 
William  Richie  and  accepted  by  him  October  8.       He  laljorcd  cariicstlN'  until 
1877,  beginning  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  members  and  leaving  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-six.       Again  the  church  had  supplies  until  a  call  was  accepted 
by  Rev.  E.  D.  Campbell,  who  was  muhn-  shepherd  for  al)out  tliree  years.       A 
lecture   room  was  built   and  furnislicd.   where  ])rayer  meetings  were  held;    it 
was  used  also  by  the  infant   Sunday  school  class.        The   audience   room    was 
newly   carpeted,    and   various   other   improvements   were   made.        Rev.    E.    1). 
Campbell  and  his  amiable  wife  were  zealous.  Christian  workers.  He  was  reluc- 
tantly released  in  the  spring  of  1881   and  again  there  wei-e  supplies  until  the 
fall  of  the  same  year,  when  a  call  unaniiuousl_\-   made   to   Rev.   T.   G.  INIorrow 
was  accepted   hy   him.        Since  then  the  clnircli   has  contiinied   to   prosper  and 
increase   in   membership.       About   1900,  a   new   church   edifice   was  built   at   a 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  249 

cost  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  and  possibly  by  the  time  this  goes  into  type, 
a  pipe  organ  will  have  been  installed.' 


SWEDISH  EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  PAXTON. 

In  1863  the  directors  of  the  Angnstana  College  and  Theological  Seminary 
concluded  to  remove  that  institution  from  Chicago,  Illinois.  An  offer  from 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  giving  some  inducements  in  lands,  was 
accepted,  and  accordingly  the  above  named  institution  was  located  at  Paxton, 
Illinois. 

Soon  after  this  the  Swedes  emigrated  here  very  fast.  On  the  3d  day  of 
June,  1863,  Dr.  T.  N.  Hasselquist  called  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  organiz- 
ing a  congregation,  which  meeting  was  held,  and  the  organization  accomplished. 

The  constitution  of  the  Augustana  Synod  was  adopted  and  the  following 
officers  were  elected:  Dr.  Hasselciuist,  pastor;  P.  Erickson,  secretary;  Erie 
Carlson,  C.  M.  Johnson  and  Emanuel  Collins,  trustees ;  P.  Peterson,  S.  Ran- 
dall, C.  Anderson,  N.  B.  Nelson,  J.  Olson  and  Ewan  Anderson,  deacons. 

Until  1865,  the  services  were  held  in  the  public  school  building.  This 
l)uilding  was  finally  purchased,  and  put  in  suitable  order  for  the  place  of  wor- 
ship. As  the  membership  increased  rapidly',  it  was  soon  found  to  be  too 
small,  and,  in  1872,  a  church  was  built.  This  building  was  forty-five  by  one 
hundred  feet,  with  a  spire  one  hundred  feet  high.  The  cost  was  over  ten 
thousand  dollars  with  an  additional  expense  of  seven  hundred  dollars  for  seats. 
In  1884,  a  new  pipe  organ  was  purchased  for  twelve  hundred  dollars.  Besides 
the  regular  church  building,  the  congregation  had  a  schoolhouse  worth  one 
thousand  dollars. 

After  1874,  when  the  Augustana  College  was  removed  to  Rock  Island,  Illi- 
nois, a  large  number  of  the  Swedish  citizens  left  Paxton  for  Rock  Island.  This 
reduced  the  church  membership,  and  three  years  later  a  few  went  out  of  the 
congregation,  and  started  what  is  known  as  the  Mission  church,  so  that  in 
1879  the  members  numbered  only  three  hundred  to  four  hundred. 

The  founder  of  the  congregation.  Professor  T.  N.  Plasselquist,  was  its  pas- 
tor until  1874,  at  which  time  he  was  obliged  to  leave  and  follow  the  Augustana 
College  and  Theological  Seminary  to  Rock  Island,  having  been  president  of 
that  institution  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

This  congregation  built  and  dedicated  in  lf)()8,  a  iiaiidsome  new  church 
edifice,  at  a  cost  of  about  thirty  thousand  dollai-s,  and  at  the  same  time  bought 
a  pipe  organ  for  twenty-three  hundred  dollars. 


250  HISTOEY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 


THE  SWEDISH  LUTHERAN  MISSION  CHURCH,  PAXTON. 

This  church  was  organized  in  November,  1878,  with  a  membership  of  sev- 
enty. Rev.  A.  P.  Palmquist  was  the  first  pastor.  For  a  time  services  were 
held  in  a  hall  until  the  present  church  lots  were  purchased  at  an  expense  of 
six  hundred  dollars,  and  a  church  building  was  erected  at  an  expense  of  one 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 


FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCPI,    PAXTON. 

This  church  was  organized  November  1,  1867,  by  a  committee  of  the  Pres- 
bj'tery  of  Bloomington,  consisting  of  Rev.  Alexander  G.  Wilson  and  Elder  W. 
P.  Pierson. 

The  organization  was  made  in  response  to  a  petition  from  a  number  of  the 
residents  of  Paxton,  who,  having  been  reared  as  Presbyterians,  desired  to  con- 
tinue in  that  faith  and  order.  Twenty-three  persons  were  received  by  letter 
from  various  churches,  principally  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  The  Sabbath 
following,  Joseph  E.  Hall  and  Charles  R.  Strauss  were  ordained  and  installed 
elders  of  the  new  church,  and  Benjamin  Q.  Cherry  and  James  D.  Kilgore, 
deacons. 

The  place  of  organization  was  Clark's  Hall;  and  services  were  continued 
there  until  Jul^',  1873,  when  the  congregation  moved  into  their  new  house  of 
worship,  erected  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Vermilion  and  Center  streets. 

The  two  lots  on  which  it  stands  were  donated  by  I\lr.  William  Pells,  and 
the  church,  in  addition  to  their  own  struggle  with  limited  means,  had  the  kindly 
assistance  of  several  persons  not  members,  in  the  erection  of  the  building.  It 
was  in  the  Gothic  style,  with  rose-windows  in  the  front  and  rear,  and  colored 
windows  on  each  side,  llie  latter  the  gift  of  individuals  and  of  classes  in  the 
Sabbath  school,  and  of  some  of  the  sister  churches  in  the  town. 

For  the  first  year  preaching  was  enjoyed  about  once  a  month.  In  the 
spring  of  1869,  Rev.  J.  A.  Calhoun  was  elected  the  first  pastor  and  continued 
his  services  one  year.  From  July,  1870,  to  April,  1871,  Rev.  Mr.  Noerr  min- 
istered to  the  people.  Difl:'erent  ministers  supplied  in  the  iuterini  between 
April.  1871,  and  1872.  In  the  spring  of  1872,  Rev.  J.  L.  McNair  was  elected 
l)astor  ;ind  was  willi  the  cIru'cIi  until  April,  187;").  Another  vacancy  depend- 
ent on  supplies,  (luring  which  Rev.  C.  IT.  Planch.u'd  supplied  the  church  one 
year.        Rev.   A.   F.   Irwin  served  as   pastor  from   Api'il,    1877,   to  January   1, 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   GIBSON   CITY 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  253 

1881.  The  ensuing  year,  Rev.  E.  B.  IMiner  served  as  stated  supply.  In 
November,  1882,  Rev.  John  Barbour  commenced  suppl3dng  the  pulpit  and 
remained  with  the  church  until  April,  188-1,  from  April,  1883,  as  pastor-elect. 
The  present  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1902. 


THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH    OF    GIBSON. 

This  church  was  organized  April,  1872.  F.  S.  Church,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Church, 
Mrs.  ]\Iary  Cornell,  Mrs.  Mary  Davis,  James  Elliott,  Mrs.  James  Elliott,  Jos- 
eph H.  Elliott,  E.  Haas,  Mrs.  E.  Haas,  W.  T.  Kerr,  Mrs.  W.  T.  Kerr,  IMrs. 
William  Moyer,  Mrs.  Lucy  Robbins,  Charles  E.  Wilson,  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Wil- 
son and  a  few  others  composed  the  first  membership.  N.  L.  Sears,  Mrs.  N.  L. 
Sears,  Austin  Crabbs,  Mrs.  Austin  Crabbs,  M.  T.  Burwell,  Mrs.  ]\I.  T.  Burwell, 
soon  afterward  united.  The  church  edifice,  valued  at  two  thousand  dollars, 
was  erected  in  1873.  It  was  dedicated  by  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows,  D.  D.,  Sep- 
tember, 1874.  Rev.  Job  Ingram  was  the  first  pastor.  The  first  trustees  were 
James  Elliott,  F.  S.  Church,  W.  T.  Kerr,  E.  Haas  and  Charles  E.  Wilson. 

The  trustees  purchased  a  house  for  a  parsonage  in  1882,  and  made  an 
extensive  addition  to  it  in  the  fall  of  1883.  The  Sunday  school  was  organized 
March,  1873. 


THE  AFRICAN   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH,  GIBSON. 

This  church  was  organized  in  1877  by  Rev.  Aaron  Ward.  The  original 
members  were  Mark  Anthony,  INIelissa  Anthony,  Bettie  Manson,  Ellen  Smith, 
Allen  Spickard  and  wife.  The  church  building  was  erected  in  1879,  the  esti- 
mated value  being  six  hundred  dollars. 


FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,  GIBSON. 

The  organization  of  this  church  took  place  on  Saturday,  October  28,  1871, 
in  Union  schoolhouse,  five  miles  northwest  of  Gibson.  Rev.  R.  A.  Criswell,  of 
Normal,  Elders  O.  Scott,  of  Farmer  City,  and  Henry  Rayburn,  of  Saybrook, 
constituted  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Bloomington  to  effect 
the  organization  of  the  society.  To  the  Rev.  Criswell  belongs  the  honor  of 
calling  the  attention  of  the  Presbytery  to  this  field  for  the  establishment  of 
a  church,  and  to  his  faithful  labors  in  earlier  years  its  existence  is  due.  The 
original  members  were  Fabius  Fleming,  Mary  B.  Fleming,  William  S.  Graham, 


254  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Ruth  S.  Graham,  Ruth  E.  Gilmore,  IMartlia  Moyer,  J.  Wiley  Moore,  Isabelle  11. 
Moore,  Sarah  E.  McKeener,  David  Newman,  James  Parr,  Mrs.  E.  F.  Parr,  John 
W.  Rodgers,  James  M.  Sudduth,  Amanda  Sudduth,  Alice  Sudduth,  Sarah  J. 
West.  William  Sudduth.  Some  time  in  July,  187-1,  the  fouiulation  of  a  Gothic 
frame,  designed  by  G.  P.  Randall,  of  Chicago,  was  laid,  but,  owing  to  a  threat- 
ened failure  of  the  corn  crop,  work  was  postponed  until  September,  when,  the 
prospect  looking  brighter,  work  was  resumed;  but  various  and  vexatious  delays 
prevented  the  completion  until  July,  1875.  The  building  was  valued  at  three 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  and  furniture  at  about  eight  hundred  dollars. 
The  Rev.  R.  A.  Criswell  acted  as  pastor  from  the  organization  until  October, 
1875.  Thereafter,  for  three  years,  the  congregation  was  dependent  upon  tem- 
porary supplies — chiefly  students  from  the  Northwestern  Theological  Seminary. 
Rev.  F.  W.  Iddings  acted  as  pastor  for  about  six  months  during  this  time,  and 
Rev.  R.  M.  Stevenson  about  one  year.  In  the  spring  of  1878,  Rev.  T.  F.  Boyd 
was  called  as  pastor,  and  served  nearly  a  year.  In  the  spring  of  1879,  Rev.  H. 
Vallette  "Warren  assumed  pastoral  charge  of  the  church.  The  original  elders 
were  J.  Wiley  Moore,  Fabius  Fleming.  ]\Ir.  Fleming  served  for  eight  years. 
The  deacons  were  James  Parr  and  John  W.  Rodgers,  the  latter  serving  three 
years. 

In  1905,  a  new  church  edifice  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  here  some  of  the  difficulties  which 
o])posed  the  church  in  its  early  history,  taken  from  a  brief  sketcli  written  ))y 
Dr.  J.  M.  Waters:  "The  congregation  was  widely  scattered  through  the 
country,  the  roads  being  new  and  frequently  impassable,  and  there  were  so  few 
members  in  town  that  it  seemed  impracticable  to  sustain  a  ])i'ayer  meeting. 
When  there  was  preaching  it  was  only  on  alternate  Sabbaths,  and  the  minister 
was  unable  to  spend  much  time  beyond  the  Sabbath  with  them.  The  elders, 
like  everybody  else  in  the  new  coiiiniiinity,  were  l)usy  with  necessary  secular  worlc, 
and  I'oi-  a,  long  time  the  congregation  hardly  knew  such  a  thing  as  pastoral  care. 

''The  members  meeting  only  on  the  Sabbath,  and  often  prevented  I'oi'  long 
periods  from  this  by  unfavorabh'  weather  and  had  I'onds,  reiiuiined  almost 
strangers  to  each  other,  and  were  slow  to  ac({uire  that  sympathy  and  confidence 
in  eacli  other  which  Ix'tter  ac<|uaintance  would  have  bred.  For  such  causes 
they  sonietinu's  I'elt  even  weaker  than  the\'  I'ealiy  were.  The  members  were 
l)oor,  almost  all  in  debt,  and  lhes(^  early  years  of  the  chui'ch  were  times  of  gener- 
al financial  stringency,  Ix'coming  gradually  worse.  In  tlu'  winter  of  187(5,  men 
oi'  good  credit  paid  eighteen  per  cent  in  bani\  for  money." 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  255 


CUMBERLAND    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    OF    GIBSON. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  chiireh  of  Gibson  was  formerly  organized 
under  the  name  of  the  Hopewell  congregation,  at  Drummer  Grove  schoolhouse, 
one  mile  northwest  of  Gibson.  The  original  organization  was  effected  Decem- 
ber 19,  1868,  by  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Lowrance,  who  afterward  moved  to  Lincoln, 
Illinois,  with  the  following  members,  twenty-two  in  all :  James  Iloaston, 
Matthew  Speedie,  Isabelle  Speedie,  James  M.  JMore,  James  J.  Houston,  Jane  J. 
Houston,  Catharine  Gilchrist,  William  S.  Thompson,  Agnes  ^I.  Thompson,  H. 
H.  McClure,  Susan  E.  McClure,  Hattie  N.  McClure,  Finis  W.  McClure,  Francis 
McClure,  AugiLsta  McClure,  T.  B.  Crigler,  Sarah  Crigler,  ]Martlia  More,  Ann 
Arigler.  Under  the  care  of  ^Mackinaw  Presbytery  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian church,  yet  without  a  settled  pastor,  the  congregation  continued  to 
worship  at  the  above  named  schoolhouse  until  the  winter  of  1872,  when  the  need 
of  a  church  building  more  fully  asserted  itself.  Accordingly,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  congregation  on  the  14th  of  April,  1873,  it  was  determined  to  enter  at  once 
upon  the  erection  of  a  suitable  house  for  worship,  and  three  trustees  were 
elected,  subscriptions  taken,  and  the  work  started.  The  names  of  the  trustees 
elected  at  this  meeting  were  :  John  T.  ]\IcClure,  Winston  Meeks  and  T.  D.  Spanld- 
ing.  Agreeable  to  the  genius  of  the  vote  of  the  meeting  of  April  li,  1873,  the 
building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  dollars. 


UNITED  BRETHREN   IN  CHRIST  OF   GIBSON. 

In  the  year  1875,  the  quarterly  conference  of  the  Elliott  charge  appointed 
a  board  of  trustees,  consisting  of  C.  J.  Buchmer,  J.  C.  Thornton,  Peter  Maine, 
Sr.,  Rev.  L.  L.  Rinehart,  and  John  Wagner,  Esq.,  to  take  under  advisement  the 
feasibility  of  building  a  church  house  for  the  United  P.rethreii  in  Christ  in  Gib- 
son. There  was  at  this  time  no  society  of  said  church  in  Gibson,  and  only  one 
of  the  newly  appointed  trustees  lived  there.  In  the  following  August  IMr.  C.  J. 
Buchmer,  seconded  by  only  a  few  friends,  began  the  erection  of  ^hat  is  now 
known  as  the  "Brethren  Church  in  Gibson,"  and  on  the  8th  day  of  January 
following,  1876,  it  was  finished  and  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God. 

This  thenceforth  became  one  of  the  appointments  of  the  Elliott  charge,  the 
other  three  were  Elliot.  Antioch  schoolhouse  and  the  AVagner  appointment. 
Rev.  F.  R.  Mitchel  was  the  pastor,  serving  his  second  year  on  the  cluirge. 
During  the  year  1876,  he  organized  a  United  Brethren  society  in  Gibson,  con- 
sisting of  the  following  members :  C.  J.  Buchmer  and  wife,  Mrs.  Mary  Emmons, 


256  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Peter  and  Elizabeth  Maine,  husband  and  wife,  ]\Ir.  M.  Kerr  and  wife,  Rev.  L.  L. 
Rinehart  and  wife,  and  two  cliildren,  Miss  Hattie  and  Samuel,  Howard  Griffith, 
Elizabeth  Griffith,  Laura  Griffith,  Sidna  Griffith  and  Maria  Griffith,  and  Mr.  J.  E. 
Sheffer. 

Remaining  a  part  of  the  Elliott  charge  until  the  fall  of  188:1  when  it  was 
made  a  station,  it  was  favored  with  preaching,  on  an  average,  once  in  two  weeks. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

This  church  was  built  in  1891,  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Other  churches  in  Gibson  all  practically  rebuilt  within  the  past  few  years. 

THE   CATHOLIC   CHURCH   OP   GIBSON. 

This  church  was  organized  at  Gibson  in  1875.  The  orignal  members  were 
John  Delaney,  John  Sutton,  Thomas  Tierney,  Patrick  Ilarty,  Michael  Harty, 
Con  Hardigan,  James  Molloy,  John  Donnelya,  Michael  Donovan,  IMiehael  Ryan, 
John  and  Jeff  New,  John  Garden  and  others  to  the  number  of  twenty-five. 

In  1876,  the  church  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  one 
hundred    dollars. 

CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  OF  ROBERTS. 

TTutil  1875,  there  was  no  Congregational  church  in  Lyman  township.  Rev. 
Wilcox,  father  of  M.  TL  Wilcox,  preached  at  stated  times  in  the  Smith  school- 
house  in  the  northern  part  of  Lyman  township,  and  the  i)(H)i)le  gemn-ally 
attended  service  regardless  of  denominational  differences  but  no  organization 

existed. 

The  Congregational  chui-ch  of  Roberts  was  organized  October  24.  1875, 
with  the  following  exercises:  Sermon  and  reading  of  covenant  by  the  Rev. 
J.  E.  Ray,  D.  D. ;  prayer  by  A.  D.  Wyckoff,  and  right  hand  of  fellowship  by 
Rev.  J.  J.  Weage. 

The  membership  at  the  lime  of  organization  was  very  small,  consisting  of 
only  ten  persons:  A.  D.  Wyckoff,  George  H.  Thompson,  ]\Iary  E.  Thompson, 
W.  S.  Larkin,  Elizabetli  Larkin,  John  Hummel,  Sarah  M.  Hummel,  Frank  But- 
ler, Lucy  Larkin  and  OliVe  Larkin. 

The  first  business  meeting  of  the  church  was  held  at  the  house  of  G.  II. 
Tliomi)son,   October  81,   1875.       At  this  meeting,   G.   H.   Thompson  and  John 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  257 

Hummel  were  elected  deacons.  W.  -S.  Larkin  was  elected  trustee  of  the  church 
for  three  years,  and  W.  A.  Kcrirney  and  J.  B.  jMescrve,  respectively  two  and 
one  years,  were  elected  trustees  of  the  Congregational  society.  Frank  Butler 
was  elected  clerk. 

On  the  6th  of  November,  1875,  C.  Manton,  who  the  following  year  removed 
to  Texas,  united  with  the  church  on  profession  of  faith.  This  was  the  first 
accession  of  the  church.  The  small  body,  in  connection  with  the  Congrega- 
tional church  at  Thawville,  struggled  on  as  best  it  could,  receiving  annually 
Home  Missionary  aid. 

In  March,  1877,  the  church  received  its  second  accession  of  membership, 
consisting  of  the  following  persons:  G.  B.  Mahaflfey,  Walter  Davis.  E.  M. 
IMahaffey,  Nellie  D.  Mahaffey,  Helen  L.  Wyckoff,  Amanda  Emmons,  F.  G. 
Lohman  and  Louisa  Tapp. 

During  the  first  four  years  of  its  existence,  the  society  had  no  house  of 
worship,  but  the  services  were  held  in  the  town  hall. 

In  the  fall  of  1879,  a  church  building,  fort>'  l)y  fifty-five  .feet,  was  begun. 
This  building*  was  completed  in  May,  1880,  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God, 
May  16,  1880,  free  from  all  incumbrances. 

Since  its  organization,  the  church  has  been  blessed  with  earnest,  efficient 
pastors,  who  considered  the  work  of  saving  souls  paramount  to  everything  else. 

]\Iay  17,  1908,  a  handsome  new  Congregational  church  was  dedicated  with 
impressive  ceremonies.  The  dedication  was  the  crowning  event  that  marked 
the  close  of  the  laljors  of  the  members  of  the  congregation,  who  have  been  inde- 
fatigable in  their  work  and  self-denial  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  funds 
to  complete  the  work.  The  decorations  were  elaborate  and  the  church  was 
crowded  with  members  of  the  congregation,  friends  and  mnnerous  former  mem- 
bers who  now  reside  in  other  places  but  returned  to  participate  in  the  ser- 
vices. A  number  of  former  pastors  also  wrote  letters  of  congratulation  to  the 
members  on  their  success.  One  service  was  held  at  10:30  A.  M.  and  another 
at  3:30  V.  M.  Rev.  G.  G.  McCullom,  of  Chicago,  preached  at  each  service, 
and  there  was  an  elaborate  musical  program  at  each  service.  The  church  was 
dedicated  free  from  debt. 


ZION    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH     f  GERMAN). 

The  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal   chuivh   organized   German   missions  as   early   as 
1868,  witli  head(iuarters  at  Odell,  Livingston  county;  later  at  Buckley,  Iroquois 


258  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

county.       Services  were  held   at  private  houses,  aud  tlicu.  as  the  membership 
increased,  in  the  pu])lic  schoolhouses. 

When  the  viUaiie  of  Roberts  came  to  be.  it  was  resolved  to  l)uikl  a  church. 
The  first  board  of  trustees,  consisting'  of  John  (Jnil)c.  Frank  Bastian.  Henry 
Michaelis,  John  Wieting-  and  Fred  llaug,  witli  their  pastor,  Rev.  Fr.  ]\Ieier, 
as  chairman,  on  the  18th  da\-  of  February,  1873,  passed  a  resolution  to  that 
effect  and  acted  npon  it  accordingly,  building  a  church,  with  spire,  that  cost 
nearly  two  thousand  four  hiuidred  dollars,  being  the  hrst  house  of  worship 
erected  in  the  village  of  Roberts.  But  its  old  and  trusted  members  have  left — 
emigrated  to  Dakota,  Iowa  and  Texas. 


METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,    ROBERTS. 

This  church  was  formerly  a  part  of  Pierce's  Mission  as  described  in  the 
account  of  the  Methodist  church  at  Melvin.  The  first  preaching  place  was 
Graham's  schoolhouse,  and  was  changed  to  Roberts  in  1871.  The  members  of 
the  first  class  were  Ole  Johnson,  leader;  Anna  Johnson,  Edward  Van  Steen- 
bergh,  Emily  Van  Steenbergh,  Jennie  Van  Steenbergh.  J.  H.  Sedore,  INlrs.  A. 
A.  Sedore,  Abraham  Sedore,  George  P.  Lyman,  Helen  Lyman,  Alfred  Smith, 
Julis  Smith,  Horace  Lester,  Hannah  Lester,  John  Kenward,  Nancy  Kenward, 
William  Kenward,  Julius  Walker,  Joel  Westbrook,  Patience  Westb^'ook,  Horace 
Snelliug,  Jane  Snelling,  Robert  Hawthorn,  Sarah  Arnold,  ThomrTs  Darg,  James 
English,  Charles  Koon,  John  Kenward,  Jr.,  Hamilton  Darg  and  Caroline  Guise. 
They  held  their  meetings  in  the  public  schoolhouse  at  Roberts,  until  January  6, 
1882,  Avhen  they  completed  a  very  neat  church  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  eight 
hundred  dollars.  This  church  was  dedicated  by  G.  W.  Gue,  presiding  elder. 
The  first  board  of  trustees  consisted  of  Thomas  Wakelin,  M.  H.  Rice,  G.  B. 
Gordon,  G.  P.  Lyman  and  E.  Van  Steenbergh. 


ZION  GERMAN  EVANGELICAL  CHURCH.  LVALVN   TOWNSHIP. 

Report  of  the  Evangelical  Association  ]\Iission  work  in  Ford  county:  In 
the  year  of  our  Lord,  1865,  Ihe  Illinois  Conference  of  this  denomination  met  at 
Washington,  Tazewell  county,  Illinois.  This  con  Terence,  at  this  session,  created 
a  new  mission  in  tlie  counties  of  Ijivingston.  .Abdjcan  and  Foi'd.  Ren'.  F.  C 
Stuewig  was  the  first  migsioimry,  in  tliis  important  mission,  t(»  carry  on  the 
Lord's  work.  He  settled  down  with  his  family  in  the  little  station  of  Chats- 
worth,  Livingston  county,  Illinois.       The  mission  in  Ford  county  began  on  the 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  259 

Ttli  (la\-  of  June.  1865.  The  first  visit  \v;is  made  at  Brother  Peter  Pfaad's. 
Brotlier  Pfaad  came  here  with  his  family  in  the  year  1858,  from  Lyons,  New 
York.  Mr.  Stuewig  then  l)ei;;ni  to  hokl  service  every  three  weeks  in  the  P. 
Rnssell  schoolhoiise,  and  also  in  the  honse  of  Kathrine  Althen.  On  his  second 
visit  he  became  acquaintt'd  with  the  followinp'  persons:  Kathrine  Althen  and 
family,  Christian  IMoser,  Annie  Wilcoxson  and  other  German  people  who  lived 
in  that  community.  The  following:  winter  he  held  a  protracted  meeting  with 
good  success.  On  the  18th  of  February,  1866,  he  organized  the  first  German 
class  in  this  new  mission.  Avith  the  following  persons  as  members:  Peter  Pfaad, 
IMargret  Pfaad,  Kathrine  Althen,  ]\Iargret  Leber,  George  Parreck.  Louisa  Bar- 
reck,  Lydia  Barreck,  Cathrene  Barreck,  Christian  Moser,  Annie  Wilcoxson. 
Peter  Pfaad  Avas  the  first  class  leader.  German  people  came  to  see  the  country, 
and,  being  pleased  Avith  the  prairie  land,  many  bought  homes  and  settled  here. 
This  was  a  help  to  the  small  society,  its  membership  greAV  rapidly,  and  by  the 
help  of  God  they  were  able  to  build  a  church  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1873. 
The  church  Avas  dedicated  by  Bishop  J.  J.  Esher. 

The  preacher  in  charge  at  this  time  was  Rev.  J.  Kurtz.  The  first  officers 
in  Zion  Church  Evangelical  Association  were  the  follovAdng:  Rev.  Henry 
Baker,  Daniel  Raabe,  Abraham  Shaffer,  Christian  Stutzman,  Peter  Pfaad. 

UNION  METHODIST  PROTESTANT   CHURCH,   DIX   TOV^NSHIP. 

This  society  began  its  existence  in  Champaign  county  about  one-half  mile 
south  of  where  the  church  building  uoav  stands  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
north  half  of  section  81.  The  first  services  held  in  this  county  Avere  in  the 
Union  schoolhouse,  one-half  mile  north  of  the  church,  under  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  J.  Krapps,  in  1874.  Among  the  original  members  were  J.  Cranston  and 
Avife,  i\Irs.  J.  Daniels,  Mrs.  J.  Barker,  Mrs.  D.  Metcalf  and  Mrs.  G.  Waggoner. 
After  the  pastoral  term  of  Rev.  Krapps,  the  Annual  Conference  sent  Rev.  R.  E. 
Fox.  The  erection  of  the  church  building  commenced  in  the  fall  of  1881,  and 
was  completed  and  dedicated  in  the  summer  of  1882.  The  building  cost  about 
twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  generosity  of  the 
entire  community.  The  first  trustees  elected  August  30,  1881,  were  M.  W. 
Scott,  J.  G.  Barker,  Henry  Shields,  J.  Daniels  and  William  Day. 

THE  NORWEGIAN  LUTHERAN  CHURCH,  DIX  TOWNSHIP. 

The  first  NorAA^egians  to  settle  in  this  county  Avere  Christopher  Ryerson 
and  Henry  Halverson.       They  came  here  from  Otter  Creek,  La  Salle  county, 


260  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Illinois,  and  located  some  fonr  or  five  miles  northwest  from  Elliott.  Our  best 
information  is  that  they  came  here  about  1866.  They  were  followed  by  Abel 
Hanson  in  1871.  Mr.  Hanson  formerly  lived  in  or  near  Lisbon,  Kendall 
county,  Illinois.  He  at  first  rented  lands,  but,  liaving  succeeded  reasonably 
well,  he  boug'lit  eighty  acres  one  mile  south  of  Elliott. 

Tolleff  Thompson,  also  from  Lisbon,  is  the  next  in  order.  Like  Mr.  Han- 
son, he  also  rented  lands  to  begin  with,  but  a  few  years  of  hard  work  made  it 
possible  for  him  to  become  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  a  few  miles  southeast  of 
Elliott. 

John  A.  Hatteberg  and  Ole  Natterstad  bought  land,  and  settled  three  miles 
southeast  from  Elliott,  in  the  year  1875. 

These  two  were  followed  in  turn  by  Thomas  Pederson,  Osmon  Osmonson 
and  Halward  Osmonson. 

Ford  county  had  by  this  time  become  famous  to  the  people  around  Lisbon, 
Illinois,  and  a  general  "exodus"  to  this  county  took  place  in  the  years  that 
followed.  IMost  of  the  Norwegians  round  about  Elliott  are  from  Kendall  and 
Grundy  counties,  in  this  state.  Perhaps  one-fourth  came  direct  from  Norway. 
Tlie  Norwegians  are  of  a  very  pious  turn  of  mind.  They  are  strictly  honest, 
industrious  and  thriving.  One  of  their  number  says  that  "with  them  the  all- 
absorbing  topics  when  they  meet  are  religion,  the  weather  and  the  crops."  Their 
prosperity  is  surprising  to  a  native  American  of  the  easy-going  sort. 

They  had  not  been  here  long  before  they  organized  themselves  into  a  con- 
gregation. The  first  step  in  this  direction  was  made  in  1876.  Rev.  Iverson 
gathered  a  flock  of  the  faithful,  and  continued  to  preach  for  them  at  intervals 
for  a  portion  of  the  years  1876  and  1877.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  G.  J. 
Omland,  a  graduate  from  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  Evangelical  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  to  which  denomination  this  congregation 
belongs.  Rev.  Omland  was  their  pastor  from  1877  to  1881.  Their  place  of 
meeting  had  been,  previous  to  1881,  in  what  are  known  as  the  Kleppa  and 
Bunch  schoolhouses,  districts  6  and  7. 

But  in  the  year  1881,  they  built  a  modest  structure  on  section  25,  town  23 
(Dix)  which  has  since  been  their  customary  place  of  worship.  The  building 
is  fifty-six  feet  long,  thirty-six  feet  wide,  and  eighteen  feet  high,  with  a  steeple 
towering  seventy  feet  into  the  sky.  The  work  was  chiefly  done  by  members 
of  the  congregation,  gratis  of  course,  superintended  by  Charles  Johnson,  Thor 
0.  Thorson  and  the  Seim  Brothers.  The  total  cost  was  three  thousand  dol- 
lars, two-thirds  of  which  was  raised  immediately  by  voluntary  subscription ; 
1883  witnessed  the  erection  of  a  neat  and  snug  building  for  the  pastor's  resi- 


ORGAN,  M.  B,  CHURCH,  PAXTON 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  263 

dence.       Total  cost  of  this,  iueluding  ten  acres  of  land,   was  twelve  hundred 
dollars.       The  parsonage  is  one-half  mile  west  of  the  church,  on  section  26. 


OTHER    CHURCHES. 

At  Farmersville,  in  the  midst  of  a  remarkahly  flourishing  settlement  of 
Swedes,  is  a  prosperous  church  of  Swedish  Lutherans.  The  church  building 
located  on  section  30,  Patton  township,  is  a  commodious  structure.  There  is 
also  a  well  built  parsonage.       This  church  is  in  a  very  satisfactory  condition. 

At  Gibson  are  two  Swedish  churches,  one  of  them  being  the  Swedish  Luth- 
eran and  the  other  of  the  Swedish  IMission.  These  societies  have  houses  of 
worship. 


MT.  OLIVET  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH,  BUTTON  TOWNSHIP. 

From  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  locality  now  included  in  Button  town- 
ship, the  Christian  denomination  had  its  ministers  early  on  the  ground.  In 
fact,  some  of  these  ministers  were  among  the  pioneer  settlers.  The  several 
organizations  or  societies  of  this  denomination  were  in  1871  reorganized  and 
united  under  the  name  given  at  the  head  of  this  article. 

The  church  building  was  dedicated  December  10,  1871,  the  dedication  sermon 
being  delivered  by  Elder  R.  ]\I.  Martin,  of  Danville,  Illinois.  The  membership 
of  the  organization  numbered  about  forty,  which  are  as  follows :  ]\Iars- 
ton  Dudley,  Milton  Strayer,  John  M.  Strayer,  T.  B.  Strayer,  William  Walker, 
David  Morehouse,  W.  H.  TI.  Wood,  J.  A.  Dudley,  Henry  Correll,  John  Correll, 
Joseph  Harris,  John  B.  Harris,  Daniel  Allhands,  and  their  wives,  also  Sarah 
Button,  Elizabeth  Strayer,  Mary  E.  Spiceard,  F.  L.  Holloway,  ]\I.  E.  Dudley, 
S.  J.  Strayer,  Dora  Strayer,  Mary  Strayer,  Sarah  0.  Walker,  Oswell  H.  Walker, 
and  Mrs.  Glotfelter. 

Soon  after  the  dedicatory  services,  the  organization  was  perfected  with  the 
following  officers :  Elder  R.  M.  Martin,  pastor ;  IMarston  Dudley  and  William 
Walker,  elders;  Harmon  Strayer  and  T.  B.  Strayer,  deacons. 

The  church  edifice  which  is  situated  on  a  handsome  knoll  in  South  Button, 
is  of  l)ri('k.       It  is  thirty  l)y  forty  feet,  with  sixteen  feet  to  ceiling. 

SWEDISH    EVANGELICAL   LUTHERAN    CHURCH,    SIBLEY. 

This  church  was  organized  at  Sibley  (then  Burr  Oaks)  January  6,  1879. 
Nils  Poison  and  Gust  Fager  were  the  first  deacons  elected.       Swen  Anderson 


264  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  C.  L.  Seaholm  were  the  first  trustees,  and  Swen  Anderson  was  the  first 
secretary.  The  eonjrregation  was  organized  under  the  leadership  of  Pastor  0. 
Tjamshiud,  and  is  under  and  within  the  Swedisli  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod 
of  United  States  of  America. 


CHURCH  OF  GOD,  ROGERS  TOWNSHIP. 

This  church  was  organized  September  26,  1869.  The  names  of  the  origi- 
nal meni])ers  are  D.  F.  Breneisa,  Peter  Minich,  Samuel  Leopold,  Joseph  Leo- 
pold, R.  C.  Breneisa,  Henry  Kaufman,  Joseph  Lnhoff,  John  Geen.  IMrs.  Susan 
]\linicli.  ]\Iiss  Emma  INIinich.  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Leopold,  Mrs.  Anna  Breneisa,  Mrs. 
Catharine  Leopokh  IMrs.  ]\Iary  Inihoff,  I\Iiss  Kate  Breneisa,  Miss  Fannie  Bren- 
eisa, ]\Irs.  Fred  Falter. 

The  Union  Bethel  was  b\iilt  in  the  spring  of  1873,  at  a  cost  of  five  hundred 
dollars.       The  house  was  dedicated  by  Elder  J.  INI.  Cassel. 

Elder  William  Smith  preached  from  October,  1869,  to  October,  1872 ;  Elder 
J.  M.  Cassel  preached  from  October,  1872,  to  October,  1874 ;  Elder  W.  B.  Allen 
preached  from  October,  1874,  to  October,  ]876;  Elder  George  Cutler  preached 
from  October,  1876,  to  October,  1877;  Elder  W.  A.  Smith  preached  from  Octo- 
ber, 1877,  to  October,  1878;  Elder  A.  J.  Fenton  preached  from  October,  1878, 
to  October,  1880;  Elders  John  Burnard  and  Oscar  Huston  preached  from  Octo- 
ber, 1880,  to  October,  1881 ;  Elder  W.  A.  Smith  preached  from  October,  1881, 
to  October,  1884. 

This  society  reject  infant  baptism,  and  practice  immersion  and  the  literal 
washing  of  the  saints'  feet  as  appointed  ordinances,  and  believe  in  the  personal 
reign  of  Christ.  They  reject  all  creeds  and  take  the  New  Testament  for  their 
discipline. 

In  1884,  the  Church  of  God  built  a  college  at  Findlay,  Ohio,  at  a  cost  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


KEMPTON    METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

'^Phc  organization  known  ;is  SugJii'  Loaf  api)ointni('iit  ol'  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal clnirch  was  first  effected  in  the  fall  of  1872,  in  what  was  called  the  Bute 
schoolhouse.  in  district  No.  3,  ]\lona  townshiji.  Previous  to  this  time,  there 
had  been  occasional  preaching  in  that  neighboi'hood  by  Rev.  JMichael  Lewis, 
better  known   as  Father  Lewis. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  265 

There  were  but  few  nienibers  at  first,  but  these  took  hold  iu  earuest,  and 
soon  others  eanie  in,  forming  a  larger  and  more  firmly  established  organiza- 
tion. The  original  members  of  this  elnirth  were  as  follows :  ]\Ir.  and  INIrs. 
Thomas  Kelley,  ]\Ir.  and  ]\Irs.  George  Sherman,  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Nelson  Lewis,  Mr. 
and  ^Irs.  James  Wade.  ^Ir.  and  IMrs.  Thomas  Heavisides,  Mrn.  Jaekson  Bute, 
Mrs.  David  Keighin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Evans,  Father  Lewis  and  wife. 

Until  the  town  hall  was  built,  the  society  worshiped  in  the  Bute  school- 
house,  but  after  completion  of  the  hall  in  1877,  the  meetings  were  held  there. 
When  the  village  of  Kempton  sprang  up  in  1877,  the  place  of  worship  was 
transferred  to  a  hall  in  the  village.  In  the  fall  of  1881,  steps  were  taken  to 
build  a  house  of  worship  in  Kempton;  the  following  spring  the  work  was  com- 
menced, resulting  iu  the  erection  of  a  neat  and  commodious  church  edifice, 
costing  about  two  thousand  dollars. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  church  was  Rev.  J.  D.  Calhoun,  who  preached  one 
year;  this  was  his  first  appointment.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Rutledge, 
who  was  in  charge  for  a  year.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  Woodward,  who 
remained  one  year;  and  his  successor  was  Rev.  J.  A.  Flowers,  whose  term 
lasted  two  years.  Following  him  came  Rev.  Wilson,  who  preached  two  years. 
Rev.  Joe  Bell  succeeded  him  and  was  in  charge  three  years. 

Robert  Le\nn,  Thomas  Heavisides.  Andrew  Stuart  and  Thomas  Shaw  have 
acted  as  stewards  at  various  times. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  MELVIN. 

This  church  was  first  organized  November  26,  1871.  It  sprung  from 
what  was  known  as  Pierce's  Mission.  Father  Pierce,  an  old  Scotch  local 
preacher  living  at  "Olive  Grove,"  came  into  Peach  Orchard  township  and 
established  a  regular  preaching  place  at  Grand  Prairie  schoolhouse  in  1869, 
which,  with  similar  preaching  places  in  neighboring  townships  was  called 
Pierce's  Mission.  When  the  village  of  Melvin  was  started  the  Grand  Prairie 
appointment  was  moved  to  Melvin.  Its  name  was  changed  to  the  IMethodist 
Episcopal  church,  with  Rev.  T.  P.  Henry  as  first  pastor  on  a  circuit  of  three 
appointments,  namely,  IMelvin,  Roberts  and  Bell  schoolhouse,  Ole  Johnson, 
James  Dixon,  Charles  Phillips  and  T.  D.  Thompson,  being  the  first  board  of 
stewards,  Charles  Phillips,  IMary  Phillips,  William  Thompson,  T.  D.  Thompson, 
Mrs.  T.  D.  Thompson,  Alexander  Stevens,  Mariah  Stevens  and  Jane  Ogden 
forming  the  first  class  at  IMelvin,  with  Charles  Phillips  as  leader.  Meetings 
were  held  in  the  schoolhouse  and  hall  until  the  fall  of  1879,  when  the  society 


266  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

began  the  erection  of  a  cluireli.  wliicli  was  eompleted  in  the  spring  of  1880, 
at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  dollars,  and  dedicated  June  20,  1880, 
])y  W.  IT.  II.  Adams,  president  of  the  Wesleyan  University  of  Bloomington, 
Illinois;  Thomas  Fletcher,  Alex  Yarbrough,  L.  »S.  Heath,  Henry  Halverson, 
J.  H.  Hig'gason,  "W.  J.  Hunt,  J.  M.  Thompson  and  T.  D.  Thompson,  being  the 
first  board  of  trustees. 


THE  GERMAN   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  SOCIETY   OF   MELVIN. 

This  society'  was  organized  in  Peach  Orchard  township  in  1870,  with  ten 
members,  l)y  Rev.  p].  J.  Funk  of  Chicago  German  Conference. 

The  first  class  was  composed  of  the  following  members :  H.  Duringer 
and  wife.  Ties  Arends  and  wife,  George  0.  Arends  and  wife,  A.  Ilellman  and 
wife,  and  Gerhard  Defries  and  wife.  Meetings  were  first  held  at  farm  houses. 
After  the  village  of  ]\Ielvin  was  started,  they  moved  into  town.  In  1875 
they  bought  the  old  schoolhouse  which  stood  a  half  mile  south  of  town,  moved 
it  up  into  town,  fitted  it  up,  and  used  it  for  church  until  1881,  when  they  built 
a  new  church  at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  It 
was  dedicated  November  20,  by  Peter  Ilinners,  of  Chicago. 


GERMAN  EVANGELICAL   CHURCH,   MELVIN. 

The  name  of  the  organization  is  as  above  stated,  but  it  is  called  St.  Peter's 
congregation.  This  society  was  organized  Octo])er  20,  1872.  The  original 
members  were  F.  Beck,  M.  Otto,  II.  Schnelle,  II.  Spellmeyer,  W.  Fabel.  II. 
Steinman,  :\r.  Tnnn.  0.  Defries,  W.  Ilafer,  F.  Bretting,  J.  ITinse,  G.  Beck.  A. 
Loeinga.  R.  Freese,  A.  Mohr.  These  members  erected  a  building  in  tlu'  spring 
of  1873,  valued  at  eleven  hundred  dollars. 

From  the  time  of  organization  until  Jidy  5,  1875,  Rev.  Simon  Surj  was 
minister  of  the  congregation.  From  the  latter  date  until  April  7,  1878,  Rev. 
II.  l!e])ler  was  the  minister. 


UNITED  BRETHREN  CHURCH,  ELLIOTT. 

Tills  cluircli  was  organized  two  and  a  half  miles  north  from  Elliott,  at 
Samuel  Todd's  house,  in  the  winter  of  18()2.  The  original  iiieiiibei-s  wei'e 
Samuel  and  Nancy  Todd,  Jackson  and  America  IMtsei',  Pet(>r  Beatty  and  wife, 
John  Wallace's  family.   John   and  Jemima    Coodi'i',  Jesse  and   Rosanna   Todd, 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  267 

Messrs.  Darg,  Hawthorne,  Triekel  and  their  wives,  John  Keesey  and  wife,  John 
]\reBride  and  wife,  and  others  to  the  number  of  forty. 

In  1872  a  church  was  erected  iu  the  vilhige  of  Elliott  at  a  cost  of  one 
thousand  dollars. 


FORD  COUNTY  NEWSPAPERS. 

BY  EDGAR  N.   STEVENS. 

The  history  of  the  newspapers  of  Ford  county,  and  especially  those  of  Pax- 
ton,  has  been  one  of  successes  and  reverses,  of  hard  struggle  for  existence,  and 
brilliant  victory  in  the  face  of  defiant  opposition.  The  newspaper  business 
is  an  occupation  in  which  is  brought  into  play  some  of  the  best  and  keenest 
([ualities  of  a  man's  nature,  and  in  which  may  also  be  displayed,  on  occasion, 
some  of  the  lowest  characteristics.  It,  in  fact,  may  be  represented  as  a  bat- 
tle, in  which  the  cohorts  are  brought  face  to  face  with  one  another  in  a  war 
of  words,  and  in  which  he  who  holds  the  best  command  of  himself  and  his 
forces  is  sure  to  prevail.  The  hosts  of  sin  are  encamped  on  one  side,  and  the 
forces  of  good  upon  the  other,  and  the  Aveal  or  woe,  the  destiny  of  a  town  or 
city,  or  it  may  be  of  a  nation,  may  rest  upon  the  conduct  of  a  single  news- 
paper. It  is  a  potent  factor  for  good  or  ill  in  any  comnumity,  which  is  an 
alhimportant  reason  that  it  should  be  in  the  hands  of  men  of  brains,  who  have 
the  good  and  not  the  ill  of  the  community  at  heart,  and  who  will  work  for  its 
upbuilding  and  best  interests. 

The  first  paper  established  in  Ford  county  of  which  we  have  any  record, 
was  the  Ford  County  Union,  started  in  the  year  1864,  and  which  liad  a  pre- 
carious existence  of  onlj'  a  few  months,  when  it  was  purchased  b^^  N.  E.  Stev- 
ens, in  February,  1865.  He  changed  the  name  to  the  Paxton  Record,  and  has 
continued  its  publication  ever  since.  The  policy  of  the  paper  has  been 
uncompromisingly  republican  from  its  very  foundation,  even  from  the  time 
when  the  country  was  closing  a  war  that  threatened  its  very  life  blood. 
Through  nineteen  years  of  changing  life,  through  seasons  of  adversity,  of  bit- 
ter strife  and  debate,  as  well  as  in  the  more  pleasant  times  of  peace,  it  has 
steadily  pressed  forward  until  the  present  time,  and  now  stands  on  a  firm  basis 
of  assured  prosperity,  demonstrating  the  fact  that  continuous  policy  is  the 
best  for  a  country  newspaper.  In  1881,  IMr.  Stevens  associated  with  him  his 
son,  Edgar  N.  Stevens,  and  the  paper  has  been  continued  since  under  the  firm 


268  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

name  of  N.  E.  Stevens  &  Son,  with  no  change  in  the  policy  of  the  paper.  The 
paper  now  occupies  a  building  of  its  own  on  north  ^Market  street,  a  good  loca- 
tion, and  is  enjoying  a  season  of  unwonted  prosperity. 

The  Stevens,  in  the  fall  of  1897.  started  a  daily  paper  and  are  running  it 
at  this  time.       It  is  a  seven  column  folio. 

The  Ford  County  Liberal,  conducted  by  Charles  D.  Sibley,  was  the  next 
paper  issued  in  Paxton.  The  first  numlier  was  published  on  the  17th  day 
of  August,  1872.  It  was  an  eight  column  folio,  neatly  printed  and  ably 
edited.  In  October  of  the  same  year,  Thomas  Wolfe  became  associated  with 
]Mr.  Sibley  in  the  editorial  management  of  the  paper,  and  in  the  following 
month  took  full  possession.  The  aim  of  this  sheet  was  to  furnish  a  live,  local 
paper,  that  should  chronicle  all  the  news  of  the  day,  and  at  the  same  time  fur- 
nish its  Liberal  and  Greenback  friends  with  arguments  for  their  cause.  The 
office  was  on  a  paying  basis,  when,  in  October,  1874,  under  the  management 
of  Messrs.  Wolfe  &  Dodd,  the  building  occupied  and  its  effects  were  burned. 
The  paper  w^as  never  resurrected. 

The  Ford  County  Blade  was  the  child  of  a  day,  started  by  JMessrs.  Creed 
&  Doxsey,  of  Bloomington,  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  1876,  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  Paxton  needed  another  local  paper  and  to  awaken  a  deeper  interest 
in  i)olitics  among  the  democratic  fraternity  in  this  immediate  vicinity.  This 
firm  published  a  newsy  local  paper  for  the  brief  term  of  twentA'-four  weeks, 
but  was  finally  obliged  to  succumb  to  the  inevitable.  On  the  9tli  day  of 
December  of  the  same  year,  the  past  paper  was  issued.  The  failure  to  estab- 
lish a  paper  was  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  the  business  was  not  lierc^  to  support 
two  live  papers — evidently  a  sensible  conclusion.  Among  others  to  whom 
credit  was  given  by  this  firm  for  favors  shown,  was  Mr.  Stevens,  of  the  Record. 

Nearly  a  year  elapsed  before  the  next  paper  appeared,  when  another  firm 
from  Bloomington  i)ut  in  the  material  for  a  job  and  newspaper  office.  IMessrs. 
Holmes  &  Colvin  christened  their  paper  the  Ford  Connt\-  News,  and  on  the  8d 
of  November,  1877,  started  out  from  a  republican  standpoint  to  ])ublisli  a 
[)a])er  well  tinged  with  that  doctrine,  and  also  to  make  it  replete  with  general 
local  matter.  The  last  issue  appeared  on  the  IDth  of  January.  1878,  these 
parties  having  fonnd  that  llie  field  of  repul)licanism  in  the  county  was  well 
occupied. 

The  Weekly  Standard,  by  the  same  publishers,  appeared  on  the  2()th  of 
Janiiai'\-,  1878.  Like  the  two  other  pa])ers  last  mentioned,  it  was  five  column 
quarto,  and,  in  reality,  a  continuance  of  the  News,  but  espoused  the  Greenback 
cause.        'i'he  Standai'd  was  longer  lived  llian   its  immediate  ])i-edecessors,  and 


SHEPERDSON  TAFTV  CO?  LAND  OFFICE. 


X.  E.  STEVEN'S,  EDITOR  PAXTON  RECORD  SINCE  JANU- 
ARY 1,  ISf.'j 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  271 

hung  on  with  a  pertinancity  worthy  of  a  better  cause  until  1879,  when  it  suc- 
cumbed to  the  inevitable,  the  field  not  being  broad  enough  for  its  proper 
support. 

The  first  edition  of  the  Appeal  was  published  on  the  26th  of  November, 
1879.  It  was  an  organ  of  the  Greenback  party,  with  Thomas  Wolfe  as  editor, 
and  B.  F.  Hill,  publisher.  About  the  1st  of  September,  1880,  the  property 
was  purchased  by  J.  C.  Dmiham,  who,  in  January,  1881,  changed  the  name  of 
the  paper  to  the  Eastern  Illinois  Register.  The  policy  of  the  paper  was 
announced  as  Greenback.  This  is  an  independent  democratic  paper,  published 
at  Paxton.  It  is  the  result  of  a  consolidation  of  the  Loda  Register,  Gilman 
Sun,  Paxton  Appeal  and  Gibson  Press,  the  first  of  which  was  established  in 
1875,  by  J.  C.  Dunham.  J.  Wallace  Dunnan  took  charge  of  the  paper  in 
1900,  and  has  ably  edited  it  up  to  the  present  time. 

The  Pan-Handle  Advocate  was  started  April  20,  1883,  by  F.  H.  Robertson. 
During  the  succeeding  suunuer  Judge  Beach  succeeded  Mr.  Robertson  in  the 
proprietorship  of  the  paper.  It  is  a  six  column  quarto.  It  has  been  an  inde- 
pendent journal,  a  paper  expressly  for  the  people,  clean,  straightforward  and 
thoroughly  representative,  social,  religious,  political,  industrial,  etc.  In  short, 
it  aspires  to  be  the  family  j^aper  per  se.       H.  P.  Beach  is  its  editor  today. 

Burt  E.  Burroughs,  of  Cabery,  was  the  first  publisher  of  the  Cabery 
Enquirer.  It  was  established  in  1883.  It  is  now  controlled  and  edited  by 
William  R.  Watts. 

The  Gibson  Enterprise  was  founded  by  P.  A.  Coal,  now  postmaster  at  Gib- 
son City,  in  1882.  He  conducted  the  business  in  a  prosperous  manner  for 
eighteen  years,  or  until  1903,  when  Woolley  Brothers,  the  present  proprietors, 
purchased  the  plant.  They  immediately  secured  a  brick  building  on  First 
street,  where  the  business  is  now  conducted.  The  Enterprise  is  one  of  a  chain 
of  three  papers  published  by  Woolley  Brothers,  the  other  publications  being 
the  Saybrook  Gazette  and  the  Arrowsmith  News.  The  firm  of  Woolley  Broth- 
ers is  composed  of  Frank  Woolley,  George  A.  Woolley  and  Arthur  B.  Woolley. 
The  Enterprise  is  edited  by  George  A.  Woolley. 

The  Sibley  Index  came  into  existence  about  January  1st,  1880,  and  was 
established  by  P.  A.  Coal.  For  some  time  H.  W.  Rodman  was  its  editor. 
He  was  succeeded  by  M.  T.  Hyer.  Sibley  is  now  depending  on  the  Sibley 
Journal  to  keep  it  informed  of  current  events.  The  J(mrnal  was  established 
in  1897,  by  the  Sibley  Pu])lishing  Company.  Its  present  editor  is  Judson 
Chubbuck. 


272  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  Gibson  Enterprise  was  established  by  N.  E.  Stevens,  in  the  spring  of 
1872.  It  was  the  first  paper  ever  published  in  Gibson.  The  printing  was 
done  in  the  office  of  the  Record  at  Paxton.  In  the  fall  of  1873,  the  Enter- 
prise was  purchased  by  Walter  Hoge,  who  changed  the  name  to  the  Gibson 
Courier.  Mr.  Hoge  conducted  the  paper  until  the  winter  of  1875,  when  E. 
Lowry  became  its  owner  and  editor.  Mr.  Lowry  was  the  editor  of  the  Courier 
until-  1885,  when  the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  N.  F.  Cunningham  and 
John  C.  IMallory.  With  indifferent  success,  the  paper  was  published  by  thost^ 
gentlemen  for  about  a  year,  when  ]\Ir.  Lowry  bought  it  back  and  edited  the 
sheet  until  1897.  At  the  time  just  mentioned,  the  concern  was  purchased  by 
C.  E.  and  J.  P.  Lowry,  sons  of  the  above,  who  are  now  in  active  control  and 
giving  the  people  of  the  county  the  local  news  and  one  of  the  best  panf^T«  in 
this  section  of  Illinois. 


THE  PIPER  CITY  ADVERTISER. 

The  Piper  City  Advertiser  was  founded  l)y  Henry  Allnutt,  who  located  in 
Ford  county  in  1870,  on  a  farm  in  Pella  township.  He  removed  to  Piper  City 
in  1873,  bought  a  few  handsful  of  brevier  type,  a  quarto  novelty  press,  noM 
opened  a  job  office.  He  was  soon  publishing  the  Advertiser,  a  four  column 
folio,  which  made  its  first  appearance  in  the  summer  of  1876.  It  was  but  a 
short  time  before  it  appeared  as  a  six  column  folio.  In  1883,  it  was  changed 
to  a  five  column  quarto. 

THE    PIPER    CITY    JOURNAL. 

The  Piper  City  Journal  was  founded  in  1897,  by  B.  W.  Kinsey.  In  1900 
it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Charles  D.  Gilpin,  wiio  is  the  present  editor.  It 
is  a  five  colunni  quarto,  and  is  neutral  in  politics. 

THE  MELVIN  TRANSCRIPT. 

The  Melvin  Transcript  was  establislied  in  1893,  l)y  W.  0.  Sanders,  wlio  is 
its  present  editor. 

THE    ROBERTS    HERALD. 

The  Roberts  llcrabl  was  founded  in  1S!)S.  Ity  W.  O.  Sanders,  and  is  giv- 
ing the  people  in  that  sedion  of  the  counly.  all  Ihe  news  there  is  to  be  had. 


HISTORY    OP  FORD   COUNTY  273 


PHYSICIANS  OF  FORD  COUNTY. 

The  following  facts  are  taken  from  the  records  of  the  county: 

Sanuiel  L.  Baughman,  Gibson  City,  graduated  from  the  Chicago  Medical 
College,  ]\Iarch  2,  1876 ;  school  of  practice,  regular  or  allopathic. 

James   Y.    Campbell,    Paxton,    graduated   from    Chicago    Medical    College, 
March  21,  1865 ;  regular. 

M.  Cassingham,  Roberts,  graduated  from  the  Rush  Medical  College,  Chi- 
cago, Febriiarj'  16,  1865;  regular. 

S.  D.  Culbertson,  Piper  City,  graduated  from  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
Philadelphia,  ]\Iarcli  10,  1866,  regular. 

L.  B.     Farrar,     Paxton,     graduated     from     Berkshire     Medical     College, 
Massachusetts,  November  8,  1848 ;  homeopathic. 

Laura  E.  Farrar,  Paxton,  graduated  from  Hahnemann  Medical  College, 
Chicago.  1872 ;  homeopathic. 

H.  E.  Farley,  Cabery,  graduated  from  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1880;  regular. 

H.  Gilborne,  Cabery,  graduated  from  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  Phila- 
delphia, ]\Iarch  9,  1872 ;  homeopathic. 

J.   I.   Groves,   Gibson   City,   graduated  from   Hahnemann  I\Iedical   College, 
Chicago,  February  26,  1880 ;  homeopathic. 

■     N.  Holton,  Gibson  City,  graduated  from  Chicago  Medical  College,  March 
5,  1867;  regular. 

H.   A.   Kelso,   Paxton,   certificate   State   Board   on   twenty   years'  practice 
June  14,  1880;  regular. 

E.  L.  Kelso,  Paxton,  graduated  from  Chicago  Medical  College,  March  27, 
1883 ;  regular. 

Floyd  O'Brien,   Sibley,   graduated  from  Rush  IMedical   College,  February 
15,  1876 ;  regular. 

W.   F.   O'Brien,   Piper  City,   examination  by   State   Board  July   6,   1881; 
regular, 

E.  B.  Perry,  Melvin,  graduated  from  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1880;  regular. 

John   T.   Ragsdale,    Gil)son    City,    graduated     from     American     Eclectic 
College,  St.  Louis,  January  26,  1875;  eclectic. 

Milton  B.  Swisher,  Paxton,  graduated  from  the  Pulte  Medical  College,  Cin- 
ciiniati,  INIarch  6,  1883;  hcmieopathic. 


274  HISTORY    OF  FORD   COUNTY 

T.  B.  Strauss,  Gibson  City,  examination  by  State  Board,  January  12,  1878  j 
regular. 

J.  M.  Waters,  Gibson  City,  graduated  from  Jefferson  ]\Iedie-al  College, 
Philadelphia,  March  7,  1868;  regular. 

S.  M.  Wylie,  Paxton,  graduated  from  Chicago  Medical  College,  ]\Iarch  5, 
1878;  regular. 

John  "Wilson.  Elliott,  graduated  from  Rush  ^ledical  College,  Chicago,  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1882 ;  regular. 

T.  R.  Wile3^,  Gibson  City,  graduated  from  Rush  Medical  College,  February 
14,  1874;  regular. 

W.  H.  Watson,  Cabery,  graduated  from  Rush  ]\Iedical  College,  February 
16,  1875 ;  regular. 

The  following  physicians  are  now  practicing  in  Ford  county : 

Paxton:  Drs.  S.  M.  Wylie,  S.  A.  Lundgren,  S.  S.  Fuller,  E.  L.  Kelso, 
H.  A.  Kelso,  R.  J.  Atwood,  E.  E.  Hester,  I.  D.  Kelschimer  and  James  Mahan; 
Dr.  Hartford,  osteopath. 

Roberts:       Dr.  B.  J.  Zahn. 

IVIelvin :       H.  N.  Boshell 

Elliott :      Dr.  G.  W.  Rudolphi. 

Clarence :      J.  B.  Brown. 

Sibley:       Drs.  A.  A.  Absher,  Otto  Finkensher. 


FORD  COUNTY  BAR. 

WRITTEN    IN    1884. 

Ex-County  Judge  David  Patton  was  the  i)ioneer  lawyer  of  Ford  county, 
liaving  located  at  Ten  Mile  Grove,  about  three  miles  southwest  of  Paxton,  in 
the  hitter  part  or  Oct()l)er,  1853,  while  Ford  was  yet  a  part  of  Vermilion  county. 
He  was  l)()ni  in  Clark  county,  Kentuck\',  in  1806,  and  emigrated  to  Butler 
county,  Ohio,  with  his  parents  in  1810.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  ho  began  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Oliver  11.  Smith  at  Connersville.  Ttidiana.  and 
while  so  engaged  in  his  studies,  taught  district  school  in  the  winter  season  to 
earn  money  to  pay  his  current  expenses.  In  October,  1828,  he  was  admittetl 
to  the  l)ar,  and  soon  afterward  began  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  at 
La  Fayette,  Indiana,  where,  by  his  natural  tact  and  close  attention  to  business, 
he  secured  antl   held  for  ten   yeai-s  a   large  and  lucrative  practice.        Frank, 


HISTORY   OF.  FORD   COUNTY  275 

upright  and  generous  in  disposition,  he  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  people, 
and  regarded  as  a  leading  lawyer  by  his  professional  brethren.  His  unguarded 
liberality,  however,  ultimately  proved  a  snare  to  him  financially.  His  earnings 
for  the  ten  years  were  soon  swept  away  in  the  payment  of  debts  for  his  friends, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  start  anew  in  life.  With  this  object  in  view,  he 
turned  his  face  and  steps  westward,  and  located  on  a  choice  tract  of  four  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  at  the  Grove  above  referred  to.  Population  in  his  new 
home  was  too  sparse  to  afford  much  profitable  law  business,  and  hence  he  turned 
his  attention  to  farming  and  stock-raising,  but  his  reputation  as  a  lawyer  soon 
came  to  the  ears  of  his  new  neighbors  and  friends,  and  he  was  frequently  called 
to  maintain  or  defend  their  rights  before  the  local  magistrates.  This  he  did 
with  his  former  zeal  and  success.  Not  a  few  of  the  regulars  in  the  profession 
could  truthfully  say  they  were  completel}^  surprised  and  often  out-generaled  in 
these  contests  by  this  unassuming  Hoosier  farmer.  To  his  efforts,  the  passage 
of  the  act  of  the  legislature  creating  the  county  of  Ford,  and  its  subsequent 
organization,  was  largely  due.  At  a  special  election,  held  in  June,  1859,  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  county  court  by  a  large  majority  over  his  opponent 
Gideon  Camp.  William  Swinford,  of  Trickel's  Grove,  and  Andrew  J.  Bart- 
lett,  of  the  Pan  Handle,  were  chosen  his  associate  justices.  At  the  general 
elections  in  1860,  186-J:  and  1868,  the  people  called  him  to  serve  them  in  the 
same  responsible  office.  Before  the  close  of  his  fourth  official  term,  the  grow- 
ing weight  of  years  and  his  extensive  real-estate  interests  in  Illinois  and  other 
western  states,  convinced  him  that  the  remainder  of  his  days  should  be  devoted 
to  private  affairs,  after  having  served  the  public  so  long  and  faithfully.  The 
monetary  panic  of  1875,  in  connection  with  his  losses  as  surety  for  some  of  his 
friends,  again  stripped  him  of  nearly  all  his  earthly  possessions.  But  notwith- 
standing his  misfortune  in  this  particular,  he  had  the  higher  and  better  consola- 
tion of  having  justly  merited  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens  by 
an  active  and  useful  life  in  their  midst  for  more  than  thirt}^  years.  Those  who 
knew  him  can  cheerfully  bear  witness  that  the  pioneer  lawyer  of  Ford  county  in 
his  younger  years  was  a  good  lawyer,  a  quaint  and  entertaining  speaker,  and  at  all 
times  a  kind  and  indulgent  parent,  a  friend  of  the  poor  and  needy,  an  enterpris- 
ing, public-spirited  citizen,  and  above  all,  a  steadfast  lover  of  justice  and 
humanity. 

In  February,  1860,  J.  B.  Bitrrows,  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  and  a  grad- 
uate of  one  of  the  leading  colleges  and  law  schools  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania, 
located  in  Paxton  as  a  lawyer.  Being  a  man  of  pleasing  address,  an  uncommonly 
graceful  and  eloquent  speaker,  possessing  a  liberal  education,  able  to  write  and 


276  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COI^XTY 

speak  Hiienth-  in  the  French  and  German  hmguages  as  well  as  in  the  mother 
tongue,  he  soon  became  known  as  a  i)opnlar  public  speaker.  His  law  practice 
grew  rapidly  from  the  start,  and  in  a  few  months  after  his  arrival  he  was  em- 
ployed in  several  important  suits  in  Ford  and  adjoining  counties.  On  the  4th  day 
of  July.  18G0.  he  delivered  to  a  large  and  attentive  nudience.  on  the  grounds 
where  the  ]uil)]ic  high  school  building  now  stands  in  Paxton,  the  first  oration  ever 
made  on  Independence  day  in  this  cit\'.  and  I  doubt  if  its  power  and  elocpience 
have  ever  been  surpassed  on  a  similar  occasion  in  the  county  since  then.  Soon 
after  this,  he  was  employed  by  the  order  of  (lood  Templars  as  state  lecturer  for 
the  state  of  Illinois,  which  position  he  held  until  the  spring  of  1861.  From  the 
spring  of  1855  until  the  autumn  of  1858,  he  was  editor  in  chief  of  an  independent 
newspaper  published  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  one  side  of  which  was  printed  in 
the  French  language,  and  the  other  in  the  English,  and  in  the  presidential  cam- 
paign of  1860,  supported  Bell  and  Everett  for  president  and  vice  president.  In 
that  campaign  ]\Ir.  Burrows  made  a  number  of  political  speeches  at  prominent 
points  in  the  south  in  their  behalf.  In  the  meantime,  he  had  Ixx-oine  well 
acquainted  with  the  political  ideas  and  revolutionary  designs  entertained  by  her 
political  leaders  and  the  unanimity  with  which  the  masses  of  her  people  would 
support  any  attempt  they  might  make  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and  hence  when 
the  roar  of  her  hostile  guns  resounded  over  the  north  at  the  bombardment  of 
Sumter,  he  at  once  insisted  that  a  tremendous  struggle  for  national  existence 
was  upon  us.  Soon  after  this,  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Paxton 
and  vicinity  to  raise  volunteers  held  in  the  schoolhouse,  he  made  an  eloquent 
appeal  to  his  audience  to  forget  past  party  affiliations,  to  "sink  the  partisan 
in  the  patriot"  and  rally  as  one  nuin  to  the  support  of  the  national  flag.  In 
1861  or  1862  he  removed  to  Bloomington.  Illinois,  where  he  assisted  in  enlist- 
ing volunteers  in  that  locality,  and  where  he  died  in  1863. 

In  the  summer  of  1860,  Kennedy  Price,  a  native  of  Ilagerstown.  ]\rary- 
land,  removed  from  Palo,  Illinois,  to  Paxton,  where  he  entered  into  copartnership 
^\ith  Henry  l^arnhouse,  an  old  resident  of  the  latter  place,  and  at  the  time 
a  jnstice  of  the  peace,  under  the  firm  name  of  Price  &  Barnhouse,  attorneys  at 
law.  Mr.  Price  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  leading  families  of  his  native 
state. 

lie  was  well  ('(hieated  in  liis  profession,  libi'ral,  jovial  and  courteous  among 
his  fi'iends,  ;uk1  in  that  sense  a  true  southern  gentleman.  In  his  address  to 
the  jury,  he  was  of  the  fervent,  fiery  order,  to  the  court  he  was  deliberate  and 
concise.  Tlis  residence  in  Paxton  was  short.  A  fii'in  believer  in  (*allioun  doc- 
trine of  state  rights,  he  nalui'ally  drifted  info  su])i)or1ing  fhe  southern  eonfed- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  277 

eracy,  and  iji  the  fall  of  1<S()1  bade  adieu  to  Paxtoii,  and  returned  to  his  native 
place  to  take  eharge  of  the  biri^e  property  interests  of  his  aged  widowed  mother, 
where,  I  am  informed,  he  became  a  captain  of  the  Confederate  army  in  1862. 

Daniel  S.  Morse,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  and  James  A.  Briggs,  a 
native  of  Rochester,  New  York,  having  heard  in  their  eastern  homes  that  Pros- 
pect City,  Ford  county,  Illinois,  would  soon  prove  a  paradise  for  young  law- 
yers, formed  a  copartnership  under  the  firm  name  of  ]\Iorse  &  Briggs,  lawyers, 
and  came  to  that  noted  city  of  the  "grand  prairie"  in  the  summer  of  18G0, 
and  tendered  their  services  to  whomsoever  it  might  concern.  Their  anticipated 
rich  harvest,  however,  yielded  rather  meager  returns,  and  hence  their  sta\  was 
brief.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1861  ]\Ir.  ]\Iorse  went  to  Chicago,  and 
Mr.  Briggs  to  Eureka,  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  where  he  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  partnership  with  Judge  'Meek  of  that  place. 

During  the  years  1859-60,  there  strode  into  Prospect  City  at  odd  times  an 
ungainly,  verdant  looking  coiuitry  lad,  measuring  fully  six  feet  four  and  one- 
half  inches  in  height,  with  broad,  angular  frame,  having  a  large  head  thickly 
covered  with  short-cut,  black  bushy  hair,  rather  small  black  eyes,  high  cheek 
bones,  sciuare,  prominent  chin,  wide  mouth  and  swarthy  complexion,  and  unus- 
ual size,  and  whose  abrupt  manners  and  speech  attracted  the  attention  of  nearly 
every  one.  Such  is  an  imperfect  description  of  the  personal  appearance  of 
Martin  V.  Ross,  one  of  the  prominent  lawyers  of  the  Paxton  bar  in  bygone 
da.ys.  He  was  born  near  Greencastle,  Indiana,  and  emigrated  to  east  central 
Illinois  al)out  1855,  where  he  was  mainly  engaged  as  a  farm  laborer  and  school 
teacher  until  his  admission  to  the  l)ar  in  1862.  After  which,  for  some  time, 
he  was  assistant  editor  of  the  Ford  County  Journal,  one  of  the  first  newspapers 
jiublished  in  the  county.  David  Crondall,  of  Champaign  City,  being  editor. 
In  186-4  he  associated  with  himself  as  a  partner  in  law,  E.  C.  Gray,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Ross  &  Gray,  which  continued  until  the  fall  of  1865,  when  Mr. 
Ross  located  at  Fort  Scott,  Kansas,  and  where  he  successfully  conducted  an 
extensive  law  business,  mostly  in  criminal  cases,  l)efore  the  district  and  supreme 
courts  of  that  state,  for  about  two  years.  He  was  twice  elected  a  member  of 
the  lower  house  of  the  Kansas  legislature,  and  served  with  much  distinction. 
At  the  close  of  his  last  term,  he  was  elected  .iudge  of  the  district  court,  com- 
posed of  lk)urbon  and  adjoining  counties,  which  position  he  held  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1870,  on  the  Pacific  sh)pe,  whither  he  had  gone 
for  his  health.  In  the  mauagemeut  of  his  cases  in  court,  he  manifested  great 
tenacity  and  no  little  adroitness.  Before  the  jury  he  urged  his  clients'  cavise 
with  much  earnestness  and  viu'or.  in  a  kind  of  "rough  and  ready"  style  peculiar 


278  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

to  himself.  Before  the  court  he  Avas  deliberate,  fearless  and  self-assured,  gen- 
erally argumentative,  though  at  times  quite  illogical.  In  politics  he  was  a 
zealous,  radical  republican,  and  during  the  htte  war  lal)()red  for  the  cause  of 
the  union  effectively.  His  educational  requirements  were  small,  yet  by  nature 
he  was  endowed  with  physical  aiul  mental  capacities  l)road  and  strong. 

Edw^ard  C.  Gr.\y,  the  oldest  settled  lawyer,  Avas  born  and  raised  in  the 
vicinity  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  His  earlier  years  were  spent  on  the  farm  and  as 
a  railroader  in  his  native  state.  When  the  southern  rebellion  broke  out,  he 
shouldered  his  musket  and  moved  to  the  front  to  take  a  hand  in  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union.  After  having  served  his  country  faithfully  in  that  memor- 
able struggle  mitil  1864,  he  received  an  honorable  discharge,  and  located  in 
Paxton  as  a  partner  of  Martin  V.  Ross,  in  the  law  practice  under  the  firm  name 
of  Ross  &  Gray.  The  firm  continued  until  the  former  Avent  to  Fort  Scott,  Kan- 
sas, in  1865.  Mr.  Gray  then  became  the  resident  partner  of  the  firm  of  Smith 
&  Gray.  This  partnership  was  dissolved  when  Mr.  Smith  Avas  elected  circuit 
judge  of  the  seventeenth  circuit  in  1873.  The  firm  enjoyed  an  extensive  and 
successful  laAv  business  in  Ford  and  adjoining  counties,  as  Avell  as  in  the  higher 
courts  of  this  state.  Mr.  Gray,  soon  after  Judge  Smith's  election,  associated 
Avith  himself  as  a  partner,  Captain  Z.  S.  Swan,  of  Champaign,  Illinois,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Gray  &  SAvan,  and  so  continued  until  the  death  of  the  latter 
at  Champaign  in  1882.  He  was  at  the  December  term,  1883,  of  the  circuit 
court,  appointed  by  Hon.  0.  T.  Rems,  presiding  judge,  as  an  associate  counsel, 
AAnth  Hon.  Thomas  T.  Tipton  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  to  defend  James  Ryan, 
Avho  Avas  under  indictment  for  the  murder  of  Abram  Thorpe,  in  Paxton,  on 
the  30th  day  of  September,  1883.  His  judgment  of  the  hnv  and  practice  Avas 
comprehensiA^e  and  accurate,  and  in  the  trial  of  a  cause  his  opponent  need  not 
expect  a  victory,  without  confronting  every  point  of  merit  involved  in  the  case. 

John  Pollock  Avas  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  in  1817,  Avhere  he  Avas 
reared  on  the  farm,  and  received  his  education  in  the  common  and  select  schools 
of  his  neighborhood.  In  1835  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Logan  county, 
Ohio;  here  he  AA^orked  on  the  farm  in  the  summer  season,  and  taught  district 
school  and  pursued  his  preparatory  study  of  tlic  hiAv  in  the  Avinter  season.  Soon 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio  in  1851,  he  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Bellfontaine.  Some  years  later,  he,  in  com- 
pany Avith  two  others,  conducted  for  two  years  a  private  bank  in  that  city  JMr. 
Pollock  acting  as  attorney  and  cashier.  Wh(>n  the  firm  dissolved,  the  business 
was  carried  on  for  two  years  longer  on  his  own  account.  Having  now  been 
elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  his  county,  he  gave  up  the  banking  business  to 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  279 

attend  to  tlie  duties  of  his  oiflee.  In  1865,  in  company  with  his  son,  J.  E.  Pol- 
lock, he  opeiied  a  law  office  in  Winchester,  Virginia,  where  they  enjoyed  an 
extensive  practice  until  the  fall  of  1866,  when  the  father  made  a  business  trip 
to  Illinois,  intending  to  return  to  Winchester,  but  in  the  meantime  the  legisla- 
ture of  Virginia  had  enacted  such  liberal  exemption  and  stay  laws  as  to  render 
collection  of  debts  tedious  and  in  some  cases  impossible.  This  induced  him  to 
take  up  his  residence  and  open  an  office  in  Paxton.  In  1872  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  of  this  state  in  the  district  com- 
posed of  the  counties  of  Livingston  and  Ford,  and  as  such  discharged  the  several 
duties  there  imposed  upon  him  witli  that  conscientious  faithfulness  that 
ever  characterized  his  action,  whether  in  public  or  private  life.  Among  other 
valuable  services  rendered  his  constituency,  especially  the  people  of  Ford  county, 
he  procured  the  passage  of  the  law  placing  McLean  and  Ford  counties  in  one 
judicial  circuit.  In  1872,  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Alfred  Sample 
(which  was  dissolved  l)y  mutual  consent  in  1877)  and  for  one  year  thereafter, 
the  firm  of  Pollock  &  IMcLean  was  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  in  this  county. 
But  his  professional  career  drew  rapidly  to  a  close,  his  overtaxed  nervous  sys- 
tem could  endure  the  strain  no  longer,  and  its  prostration  ensued  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  law  business  entirely  and  retire 
to  private  life.  In  his  practice,  he  was  a  careful,  painstaking  lawyer,  always 
aiming  to  secure  all  legal  rights  of  his  client  in  every  emergency,  while  his 
naturally  sympathetic  disposition  impelled  him  to  extra  effort  in  behalf  of  the 
poor  or  unfortunate  who  entrusted  their  cases  to  his  management. 

Alfred  Sample  Avas  born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  November  27,  1846.  lie 
came  to  Illinois  in  1857.  lived  and  labored  on  the  farm  until  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth 
Illinois  Infantry,  and  fought  resolutely  for  his  country  until  ]\Iay,  1864.  He 
received  severe  wounds  in  both  arms  and  breast  in  the  battle  at  Resaca,  Geor- 
gia, and  on  account  of  which  he  was  discharged  in  December,  1864.  In  January, 
1865,  he  entered  Eureka  College,  where,  and  at  ]\Ionmouth  College,  he  pur- 
sued a  course  for  four  years  with  a  view  of  the  study  of  law.  Afterward  taught 
school  for  a  short  time.  He  read  law  with  Colonel  R.  G.  Ingersoll  at  Peoria, 
Illinois,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  December.  1870;  came  immediately  to 
Paxton  and  formed  a  partnership  with  ]\I.  II.  Cloud,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Cloud  &  Sample,  which  lasted  until  the  fall  of  1872,  when  the  firm  of  Pollock 
&  Sample  was  formed,  and  was  dissolved  in  1877.  In  1872,  he  was  elected 
states  attorney  for  this  county,  and  was  reelected  to  the  same  office  in  1876, 
l)y  a  large  majority.       In  1880  he  was  chosen  elector  on  the  republican  ticket, 


280  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

and  cast  his  vote  in  the  electoral  college  for  James  A.  Garfield  for  president, 
and  Chester  A.  Arthnr  for  vice  president.  From  the  Ix'ginning  he  was  a 
remarkahh"  successful  lawyer,  and  was  employed  in  several  of  the  most  import- 
ant suits  ever  tried  in  the  county,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  his  employ- 
ment by  the  railroad  and  warehouse  commissioners  to  prosecute  the  Wabash 
Company  for  making  unjust  discriminations  in  tlieir  rates  for  carriage  of 
freight  between  Peoria,  Illinois,  and  New  York,  and  Ix'tween  Oilman  and  New 
York.  By  nature  adapted  to  tlie  profession  of  the  law,  possessing  tact,  energy, 
industry  and  invincible  determination,  he  allowed  no  cessation  of  hostilities  until 
he  was  completely  victorious  or  utterly  vanquished.  Tie  for  years  served  on  the 
circuit  bench. 

Milton  H.  Cloud  was  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  July  24,  1842,  came 
to  Illinois  in  1850,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Tazewell  county,  where  he  lived 
until  he  \yas  twenty  years  old,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighty-sixth  Regiment 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  his  country  valiantly  for  three  years  as 
color-bearer.  At  the  battle  of  Kenesaw  IMountain  he  received  two  severe 
wounds.  After  the  close  of  his  military  service  he  entered  Eureka  College 
for  a  time,  then  read  law  at  Pekin,  Illinois,  and  during  the  winter  of  1866  was 
a  student  at  the  Chicago  Law  School,  after  which  he  completed  his  preparatory 
study  of  the  law  at  Metamora,  Illinois,  in  the  office  of  R.  T.  Cassell  &  Son. 
He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1867,  and  commenced  practice  at  El  Paso,  Illi- 
nois; came  to  Paxton  in  January,  1869.  and  soon  acquired  a  fair  practice.  In 
1871,  the  partnership  of  Cloud  &  Sample  was  begun  and  continued  until  1872. 
INIr.  Cloud  was  also  states  attorney  for  the  county  during  the  partnership.  For 
the  year  1875  he  was  city  attorney  for  the  city  of  Paxton.  In  1876.  he  became 
a  member  of  the  loan  and  real-estate  firm  of  Ilanley,  Sutton,  Cloud  &  Day. 
jMr.  Cloud  in  the  examination  of  titles,  is  probalily  as  proficient  as  any  attorney 
in  this  part  of  the  state.  In  1882,  he  was  appointed  master  in  chancery  for 
the  county  by  0.  T.  Reeves,  circuit  judge.  In  1886  he  was  elected  county 
judge  of  Ford  county. 

John  R.  Kinnear  was  born  July  26,  1848,  at  AVest  Point,  Tippecanoe 
county,  Indiana.  He  removed  with  his  parents  to  Kingston.  Ross  county,  Ohio, 
in  1844,  and  thence  to  Bloomington,  Illinois,  in  the  fall  of  1849,  and  again  to 
Walnut  Grove,  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  in  the  spring  of  1850;  young  Kin- 
near  was  reared  on  the  farm.  He  attended  Eureka  (>)llege  at  Galesburg.  Illi- 
nois and  remained  there  until  August,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
Eighty-sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  August  22,  1862.  His  regiment  was 
mustered  into  the  service  August  27,  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  and  on  September  7, 


JUDGE   .1.   H.   MOFFETT,   DECEASED,    PAXTOX 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  283 

was  ordered  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  immediately  began  active  service.  The 
regiment,  belonging  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  has  an  excellent  record 
for  fighting  qualities,  having  been  engaged  in  twenty-two  pitched  battles,  besides 
numerous  skirmishes.  ]\Ir.  Kinnear  was  constantly  with  his  regiment,  except 
one  month  of  sickness  at  Nashville,  and  kept  a  daily  record  of  its  operations. 
After  having  faithfully  served  his  country  for  four  years,  lacking  two  months 
and  twenty-two  days,  he  was  mustered  out  with  his  regiment  at  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  June  6,  1865.  On  his  return  to  his  home  he  was  solicited 
l)y  his  conu'ades  to  prepare  a  history  of  the  regiment  from  his  notes,  which  he 
did  in  1866.  How  well  he  performed  his  work  is  best  shown  by  the  fact  that 
more  than  two  thousand  volumes  were  published  and  sold  at  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  volume.  Soon  after  he  reached  home  he  began  the  study  of  the  law 
in  the  office  of  Judge  Charles  H.  Chitty,  at  Metamora,  Illinois.  After  reading 
two  years  in  the  office,  he  attended  the  Chicago  Law  School,  during  the  winter 
of  1867-68,  and  located  in  Paxton  in  March  of  the  latter  year.  Here  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Hon.  C.  H.  Frew,  which  was  dissolved  July  20,  .1871 ;  he 
served  as  city  attorney  for  the  city  of  Paxton  during  the  years  1869-70-71,  and 
as  master  in  chancery  for  Ford  county  four  years,  from  August  28,  1873.  In 
January,  1881,  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  John  H.  IMoffett,  which  lasted 
until  his  removal  from  Paxton.  During  his  residence  in  Paxton  he  success- 
fully conducted  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  and  w^as  engaged  in  many  of  the 
most  important  suits  tried  in  this  county.  Among  them  he  was  of  counsel  for 
General  Hendrix,  indicted  for  murder  in  McLean  coimty,  who  w^as  acquitted. 
He  was  married  to  Rebecca  Means,  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  June  2,  1868,  and 
by  wdiom  he  had  two  children,  Ritchey  and  Zeta. 

Hon.  Calvin  H.  Frew  is  the  son  of  Robert  and  Anna  S.  Frew,  and  a 
native  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  was  raised  on  a  farm,  and  devoted  much  of  his 
time  to  reading,  when  not  engaged  in  farm  or  other  labor.  When  seventeen 
years  old,  he  began  teaching  school,  paying  a  share  of  his  wages  to  his  father, 
and  using  the  remainder  to  pay  his  own  expenses  at  the  high  school,  and  at 
Beaver  Academy  in  Pennsylvania,  and  later,  at  the  Vermilion  Institute  in  Ohio. 
In  1862  he  became  the  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Kalida,  Ohio,  and  occu- 
pied a  similar  position  in  the  high  school  at  Young  America,  Illinois,  in  1863-64. 
In  this  way  he  paid  indebtedness  incurred  in  obtaining  his  education,  and  at 
the  same  time  pursued  his  preparatory  study  of  law.  In  the  spring  of  1865 
he  settled  in  Paxton,  and  there  piKsued  his  study  in  the  law  until  the  following 
December,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois. 
In  1868,  less  than  three  years  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  was  elected  to 


284  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

the  general  assembly  from  Ford  and  Iroquois  counties.  During  his  first  term 
as  a  member  of  that  body,  he  became  distinguished  on  account  of  his,  then  sup- 
posed, unconstitutional  and  radical  views  touching  the  power  of  the  state  to 
regulate  the  charges  of  the  raihvay  companies  for  the  carriage  of  passengers 
and  freight.  On  January  19,  1869,  he  introduced  and  supported  by  an  able 
argument  the  following  resolution:  "Resolved  that  all  privileges,  powers  or 
prerogatives  acquired  by  railroad  companies  of  the  state  government  are  subor- 
dinate to  the  general  welfare  of  the  people  or  community  where  constructed, 
and  that  the  right  of  the  state  to  exercise  a  reasonable  control  over  such  com- 
panies is  one  of  which  no  power  can  divest  the  people."  The  doctrine  embodied 
ill  this  resolution  has  since  become  the  settled  law  of  the  land,  having  been  de- 
clared such  by  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois,  as  well  as  by  the  supreme  court  of 
the  United  States.  In  1870,  he  was  reelected  by  a  large  majority  from  the  coun- 
ties of  Ford  and  Kankakee.  During  this  term  also,  he  took  an  active  part  in 
securing  amendments  to  and  the  passage  of  some  of  the  most  beneficial  statutes 
of  the  state  now  in  force.  In  1878  he  was  elected  a  third  time  to  the  legislature, 
this  time  representing  the  counties  of  Ford  and  Livingston ;  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant laws  passed  by  the  legislature  at  this  session  was  that  requiring  the 
foreclosure  of  trust  deeds  and  mortgages  in  court  instead  of  by  advertisement, 
the  passage  of  which  IMr.  Frew  urged  with  his  usual  zeal  and  force.  In  public 
life  Mr.  Frew  has  always  been  diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  his 
constituency  with  that  earnestness  and  fearlessness  characteristic  of  men  of  bold, 
independent  mind. 

F.  L.  Cook  was  a  native  of  New  York.  Besides  having  a  good  common- 
school  education,  he  attended  Eureka  College  in  AVoodford  county  and  Knox  Col- 
lege at  Galesburg,  Illinois,  for  more  than  five  years.  His  father  having  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army,  his  son  had  to  (jiiit  college  to  oversee  his  business  affairs,  that 
of  grain  buyer  and  railway  agent  at  Kappa,  Woodford  county,  Illinois.  This  he 
did  from  1862  to  1866.  In  {ho  fall  of  the  latter  year  he  went  to  the  national 
capital  as  an  employe  of  the  state,  to  collect  soldiers'  claims,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged for  three  years.  He  then  acted  as  private  secretary  for  Senator  Cullum, 
then  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  congress  from  Illinois,  afterward  as  clerk  of 
the  two  house  committee  on  territories  and  foreign  affairs  dnring  the  years  1869, 
1870,  1871,  as  well  as  having  charge  of  the  payment  of  United  States  marshals  in 
the  census  office.  in  .June,  1S71,  lie  gi'aduated  from  the  Columbia  Law  School, 
D.  C.  but  had  been  admitted  to  practice  in  Illinois,  and  located  at  Paxton  as  a 
lawyer  soon  thereafter.  The  city  council  appointed  him  its  attorney  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term  of  J.  C.  Patton.  deceased,  and  in  1877,  lie  was  appointed  master 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  285 

in  chancery  for  this  connty  by  Jnclge  0.  T.  Reeves.       At  the  general  election  in 
1880  he  was  elected  states  attorney  for  Ford  county. 

Charles  H.  Yeomans,  one  of  the  first  settled  and  most  successful  attorneys 
in  Gibson  City,  was  born  in  Delaware  county.  New  York,  December  2,  1846,  and 
came  to  Illinois  in  1850.  In  July,  1871,  he  graduated  from  Ripon  College,  Wis- 
consin, and  received  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  and  in  1879  the  degree  of  A.  M.  from 
the  same  institution.  While  pursuing  his  classical  course  at  Ripon,  he  also  read 
law  under  the  supervision  of  Hon.  Jesse  Dobbs,  at  Ripon.  and  during  vacations 
in  the  office  of  Hon.  C.  H.  Wood,  at  Onarga,  Illinois.  In  October,  1870,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Wisconsin  bar,  and  to  the  Illinois  bar  in  1872  at  Ottawa,  Illinois, 
having  located  at  Gibson  the  preceding  July.  By  close  attention  to  his  profes- 
sional business  and  untiring  fidelity  to  his  clients'  interests,  he  secured  a  full 
share  of  law  business,  as  well  as  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens 
He  held  the  office  of  city  attorney  for  his  adopted  city,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education.  He  was  public  spirited  and  enterprising,  taking  an  active 
part  in  whatever  movements  were  inaugurated  for  the  social  or  commercial  ad- 
vancement of  the  young  and  flourishing  city  of  his  adoption  so  fortunately 
located  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Sangamon  river. 

J.  Rheese  Patrick,  fourth  son  of  Mr.  A.  C.  and  Mrs.  C.  H.  Patrick  was  born 
March  4,  1858,  at  Rural  Valley,  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania.  During 
his  boyhood  days,  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  he  attended  the  common  schools 
of  his  neighborhood  in  winter  time  and  Avorked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  during 
his  vacations.  Subsecpiently  he  took  the  full  classical  course  of  study  at  the 
Glade  Run  Academy,  located  at  Dayton,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  spring  of  1879 
completed  the  post-graduate  course  in  that  institution,  which  entitled  him  to  en- 
ter the  sophomore  class  in  college  In  the  fall  of  1879  he  engaged  to  teach  the 
public  school  at  Pellsville,  Vermilion  county^  Illinois,  as  principal,  which  position 
he  occupied  for  three  successive  years,  and  in  the  meantime  began  and  completed 
his  preparatory  study  of  the  law  under  the  supervision  of  INIessrs.  Kinnear  & 
]\Ioffett,  attorneys  in  Paxton.  In  ]\Iay,  1882,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  ap- 
pellate court  at  Springfield,  Illinois  For  six  months  thereafter  he  studied  and 
worked  in  his  profession  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Calvin  II.  Frew,  of  Paxton.  He  then 
opened  an  office  and  practiced  on  his  own  account.  At  the  spring  election  of 
1883,  he  had  the  honor  to  be  elected  to  the  office  of  city  attorney  for  the  city  of 
Paxton,  after  a  close  contest,  Milton  II.  Cloud,  an  older  and  more  experienced 
lawyer,  being  his  opponent. 

Dr.  Lockhart  Brooks  Farrar  was  born  at  Langdon,  Cheshire  county.  New 
Hampshire,  August  29,  1822.       The  death  of  his  father  occurred  when  the  sub- 


286  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

jec't  of  this  sketch  was  al)out  four  years  old.  Ilis  mother  then  removed  witli  her 
family  to  Walpole,  New  Hampshire,  where  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood  years 
w'ere  passed.  After  attending  the  common  schools  and  different  academies  in 
his  native  state,  he  tanght  school  for  some  years  in  various  towns  in  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Vermont.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  George 
Smith,  of  Walpole,  and  completed  his  preliminary  course  in  his  profession  with 
the  late  Dr.  Hubbard  Groves,  of  Nashua,  New  Hampshire.  His  first  course  of 
lectures  w^as  given  at  Woodstock,  Vermont.  1iut  he  received  his  diploma  from  the 
Berkshire  Medical  College,  of  IMassachusetts,  commencing  in  1848.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  for  three  years  at  Hollis.  New  Hampshire,  then  moved  to 
Manchester,  ^lassachusetts.  The  winter  of  1854-55  he  spent  at  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  at  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
New  York  city,  and  in  the  hospitals  of  those  cities.  In  the  spring  of  1856  he 
came  to  Illinois,  and  to  Paxton  in  the  fall  of  1858.  In  1868  he  began  the  study 
of  law,  and  in  1871  took  the  law  diploma  from  the  INIichigan  University  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Illionis  bar  the  same  year.  He  opened  a  law  office  at  Paxton  and 
practiced  that  profession  for  about  four  years  and  then  returned  to  the  practice 
of  medicine. 

S.  P.  McLean  was  born  ]\Iay  9,  1852,  in  Hancock  county,  A-'irginia.  He 
resided  in  Carrollton.  Ohio,  half  a  dozen  years,  and  then  removed  to  Vermont, 
Illinois,  in  1860.  He  was  taught  the  harnessmaker's  trade  by  his  father,  and 
thereby  earned  the  money  to  give  him  a  good  college  education. 

He  read  law  with  Gest  &  Pooks,  of  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  was  licensed  to  prac- 
tice on  examination  by  the  supreme  court  of  Illinois,  at  Ottawa,  in  September, 
1877,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  came  to  Paxton  and  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  Hon.  John  Pollock,  under  the  firm  name  of  Pollock  &  IMcLean.  A  year 
later.  Pollock  retired  from  the  practice  of  the  profession,  and  McLean  continued 
the  business.  At  the  spring  election  in  1879.  he  was  elected  city  attorney  for 
the  city  of  Paxton,  which  position  he  held,  in  addition  to  a  good  general  practice, 
until  ^lay.  1880.  wlieii  lie  resigned  as  city  attorney,  boxed  his  law  library  and 
entered  journalism,  begiiuiing  as  reporter  on  the  Bloomington  (111.)  Daily  Mail. 
As  a  newspaper  man  he  was  a  "Bohemian."  having  been  engaged  in  reportorial 
and  editorial  work  on  Ihc  Seihilia  (Mo.)  Ba/oo.  the  (ii-cat  Sonlhwcst  of  St.  Louis, 
the  Decatur  Herald,  IMooniington  IMail,  Lincoln  Times  and  other  sheets,  and  Avas 
editor  of  the  Kankakee  Times,  and  where  his  fi'iends  jokingly  said  he  was  put 
under  bonds  to  stay  at  least  a  year  as  a  condition  precedent  to  his  employment. 
He  was  quite  spicy  and  versatile  as  a  writer,  and  h(>ld  the  usual  adjustable  polit- 
ical notions  of  newspaper   i-epoi-fers.  On   .July    1)5.    1881.   he   was  united   in 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  287 

marriage  with  Miss  Nealy  Briiyn,  eldest  daughter  of  W.  11.  Bruyn,  of  Paxton, 
Illinois. 

S.  P.  Radv,  attorney  at  law,  at  Gibson,  Illinois,  was  horn  in  Floyd  county, 
Indiana,  in  1858.  Until  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm 
in  the  summer  season  and  attended  the  district  school  of  his  neighborhood  during 
the  winter.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  high 
school  in  Galena,  under  his  brother,  William  Rady.  For  the  next  nine  years  he 
taught  school  a  part  of  the  time  and  attended  school  the  remainder  of  the  time. 
While  so  engaged  he  went  to  Hartsville  University,  Indiana,  and  the  National 
Normal  School  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  and  graduated  there  in  the  scientific  course 
in  1877.  For  three  years  thereafter  he  was  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Lon- 
adeser,  Kentucky.  Some  time  afterward,  he  accepted  the  principalship  of  the 
Gibson  city  public  school,  which  he  held  for  one  year. 

James  Henry  Lott  was  born  May  7,  1855,  at  Charleston,  in  the  state  of 
South  Carolina.  His  father  was  of  mixed  blood,  being  equally  Indian  and 
African,  and  was  a  free  man  and  a  carpenter  by  trade.  His  mother  was  a 
(luadroon  and  a  slave,  and  by  descent  a  granddaughter  of  Governor  Pickens, 
of  that  state.  Henry  went  to  Boston  in  1865,  as  valet  to  Colonel  Nutt,  of  the 
Fifty-fifth  Massachusetts  Colored  Volunteers,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
came  to  Tuscola,  Illinois,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools  until  1873,  and 
in  the  meantime  learned  the  barber's  trade.  In  1878  he  went  to  Terre  Haute, 
Indiana,  where  he  read  law  in  the  office  of  Doris  &  Doris,  for  eighteen  months, 
and  in  1881  came  to  Paxton,  Illinois,  and  resumed  his  law  studies  in  October 
of  the  latter  year,  under  the  supervision  of  A.  Sample.  On  the  23d  day  of 
November,  1863,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  after  a  rigid  examination  by  a 
committee  of  three  eminent  lawyers,  appointed  by  the  appellate  court  of  the 
third  district,  then  in  session  at  the  state  capital,  to  examine  applicants  for 
admission.  His  knowledge  of  his  chosen  profession  in  thoroughness  and 
extent  was  undoubtedly^  equal  to  if  not  above  the  average  of  beginners.  He 
certainly  deserved  much  credit  for  the  determination  he  has  shown  to  succeed, 
for  it  must  be  remembered  that  during  most  of  the  time  he  had  been  engaged 
in  preparation  for  the  law  practice,  he  earned  a  livelihood  for  himself  and 
family  at  the  barber's  chair,  and  only  acquired  his  knowledge  of  law  and  other 
subjects  while  others  slept. 

John  II.  Mofpett,  who  in  1884  was  one  of  the  youngest  and  most  success- 
ful members  of  our  l)ar,  was  born  in  Clayton,  Adams  county,  Illinois,  Febru- 
ary 25,  1857.  In  1859  he  emigrated  with  his  i)arents  to  lUoomington,  Indiana, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1865  to  Paxton,  Illinois.       Here  he  graduated  from  the 


288  HISTORY   OF  FOED   COUNTY 

public  school,  standing  at  the  head  of  his  classes,  in  1875.  Desiring  more 
extended  education,  he  repaired  to  ]\Ionniovith  College  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  and  there  studiously  applied  himself  until  the  spring  of  1877.  when  he 
began  his  investigations  of  the  intricacies  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  John  R. 
Kinnear,  then  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  Ford  county  l)ar,  and  in  Jan- 
uary. 1880.  was  admitted  to  practice.  He  immediately  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  preceptor  under  the  firm  name  of  Kinnear  &  IMoffett.  which  lasted 
until  May,  1883,  when  Mr.  Kinnear  took  his  departure  for  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton. After  that,  he  conducted  as  resident  partner  the  law  business  of  the  firm 
of  Tipton  &  :\Ioffett.  During  the  years  1881-82,  he  held  the  office  of  city  attor- 
ney for  the  city  of  Paxton. 

The  Present  Members  op  the  Ford  County  Bar  are :  Milton  II. 
Cloud,  and  F.  IM.  Thompson,  composing  the  firm  of  Cloud  &  Thompson;  A. 
jMcElroy;  C.  11.  Frew;  H.  IT.  Kerr  (now  county  judge)  and  Frank  Lindley, 
composing  the  firm  of  Kerr  &  Lindley;  ]\I.  L.  ]\IcQuiston  and  G.  Frederick, 
IMcQuiston  &  Frederick,  C.  E.  Beach;  R.  A.  McCracken;  Samuel  Ludlow  and 
A.  L.  Phillips,  Phillips  &  Ludlow;  C.  S.  Schneider  and  R.  L  Schneider, 
Schneider  &  Schneider;  0.  H.  Wylie;  Harry  Duffield,  (city  attorney)  Paxton; 
H.  P.  Beach,  M.  H.  Scott,  Piper  City;  L.  A.  Cranston,  (states  attorney)  Gib- 
son City. 

THE  FORD  CIRCUIT  COURT. 

The  legislature  of  the  state  of  Illinois  in  the  act  organizing  Ford  county 
placed  it  in  the  eighth  judicial  circuit,  and  provided  that  the  judge  of  said  cir- 
cuit should  hold  a  term  of  court,  on  the  organization  of  the  county,  at  a  place 
to  be  desigiuited  by  the  county  court. 

At  this  date,  1859,  the  counties  of  Logan,  McLean,  DeWitt,  Champaign 
and  Vermilion  comprised  the  eighth  district. 

February  4,  1861,  an  act  was  passed,  organizing  the  twenty-seventh  judi- 
cial circuit,  in  which  were  placed  the  counties  of  Vermilion,  Champaign,  Douglas 
and  Ford.  Our  county  remained  in  this  circuit  until  1867.  when  on  Jan- 
uary 29,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  the  counties  of  Moultrie,  Shelby,  IMaeon, 
Piatt,  Fayette,  Champaign  and  Ford  were  united  in  the  seventeenth  circuit. 

In  April,  1872,  the  legislature  again  changed  the  circuit,  placing  us  in  the 
twentieth,  with  tlie  counties  of  Kankakee,  Iroquois  and  Livingston. 

Under  act  of  the  legislature  approved  and  in  force  ]\Iarch  28,  1873,  the 
state  was  again  divided  into  circuits,  McLean  and  Ford  constituting  the  four- 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  289 

teentli.  By  act  Jiine  2,  1877,  in  force  July  1,  1877,  the  state,  excliLsive  of 
Cook  county,  was  divided  into  thirteen  circuits.  The  counties  of  McLean, 
Ford,  Kankakee,  Iroquois  and  Livingston  forming  the  eleventh. 

The  arrangement  of  counties  under  this  act,  together  with  the  additional 
judge  elected  under  its  provisions,  made  the  numher  of  judges  in  each  of  said 
circuits  three. 

The  following  judges  have  held  circuit  courts  in  Ford  county :  Hons. 
David  Davis,  Charles  Emerson,  0.  L.  Davis,  James  Steel,  A.  J.  Gallagher, 
Charles  H.  Wood,  Thomas  F.  Tipton,  J.  W.  Cochran,  0.  T.  Reeves,  N.  J.  Pills- 
bury,  Franklin  Blades,  Alfred  Sample,  Charles  R.  Starr,  Colestin  I),  flyers, 
George  W.  Patton,  John  TI.  Moifett  and  Thomas  IVI.  Harris. 

The  first  term  of  the  Ford  county  circuit  court  was  held  at  the  City  Hotel 
in  Paxton,  November  18,  1859. 

The  Hon.  David  Davis,  of  Bloomington,  was  the  presiding  judge;  Samuel 
L.  Day,  clerk ;  Howard  Case,  sheriff ;  and  Ward  H.  Lamon,  states  attorney. 
The  first  grand  jurors  were  James  P.  Button,  Matthe\r  Elliott,  ]\Iilton  Strayer, 
Obadiah  Campbell,  Sidney  Morgan,  Solomon  Burt,  John  B.  Buell,  Leander 
Britt,  Lindsey  Corblej^,  John  Brown,  Leander  Butts,  John  P.  Day,  Richard 
Bryan,  John  Dopps,  Sr.,  William  Bryan,  Robert  Eggleston,  Peter  Van  Antwerp, 
Robert  N.  Scovill  and  William  Newlin. 

Petit  Jurors — Charles  Cloyes,  Benjamin  Ferris,  Patrick  Torpey,  Isaac  Hall, 
John  R.  Lewis,  Henry  Atwood,  L.  W.  Henckle,  John  Swinford,  Dennis  Ilapper, 
Francis  Meharry,  John  Richardson,  Charles  Wall,  Milton  Wineland,  Seth  T. 
Simons,  Archibald  IMcKinney,  Jacob  Titus,  William  Reed,  Harmon  Strayer, 
Jacob  Tanner,  Jacob  Henry,  Frederick  T.  Putt,  William  Pollock,  Paul  W. 
Cooley  and  A.  E.  Scovill. 

The  court  was  in  session  four  days. 

John  R.  Lewis,  Esq.,  member  of  the  petit  jury,  in  his  "History  of  the  Pan 
Handle,"  speaks  of  this  term  of  court  as  follows: 

"The  charge  to  the  grand  jury  was  made  by  the  judge  himself,  who  also 
administered  the  oaths.  In  his  charge,  the  judge  urged  them  to  do  their 
whole  duty  as  men  and  jurors,  and  as  they  were  just  starting  in  a  new  county 
to  be  careful  and  see  that  all  depredations  committed  in  their  neighborhood 
were  presented  to  the  jury  and  returned  to  the  court.  The  judge  said,  'rid 
your  neighborhood  of  all  petty  thieves  and  lawbreakers,  and  return  them  to 
this  court.' 

"There  were  not  many  cases  on  the  common  law  docket.  A  few  chancery 
cases  came  up  and  were  argued  before  the  court. 


290  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

"Hon-.  David  Brier,  of  Bloomington,  defended  the  location  selected  by  the 
county  commissioners  for  the  courthouse.  After  carefully  listening  to  both 
sides,  the  court  gave  his  opinion  in  the  matter.  In  doing  so,  he  complimented 
County  Judge  David  Patton,  saying  he  had  been  acciuainted  with  him  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  that  his  opinions  as  a  lawyer  were  considered  carefully  made 
and  well  taken,  but  in  this  case  the  court  must  differ  with  him. 

"One  criminal  case  was  tried  at  this  term  of  court.  It  was  on  a  change 
of  venue  from  Vermilion  county,  where  a  man  had  stolen  a  kit  of  fish  weigh- 
ing fifty  pounds  from  the  railway  depot  at  Danville.  In  this  trial,  three  of 
the  jury  were  from  the  Pan  Handle.  The  prisoner  was  very  ably  defended 
by  an  attorney  from  Danville.  The  defense  set  up  was  that  the  value  of  the 
fish  stolen  was  less  than  five  dollars,  and  introduced  witnesses  to  prove  that  this 
was  the  fact.  One  of  these,  Mr.  Barnhouse,  of  Prairie  City,  swore  that  a  kit 
of  fish,  such  as  the  one  stolen,  was  sold  in  his  town  for  from  four  and  a  half 
dollars  to  four  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents.  In  the  cross-examination.  States 
Attorney  W.  H.  Lamon  brought  out  that  the  witness  knew  nothing  of  the  value 
of  fish  in  Danville,  and  as  Danville  was  the  place  from  which  the  fish  was 
stolen,  the  Danville  price  must  be  that  at  which  it  was  valued.  In  his  charge 
to  the  jury.  Judge  Davis  said  if  they  found  that  the  prisoner  was  guilty,  and 
that  the  fish  stolen  was  valued  at  five  dollars  or  over,  the  penalty  was  not 
less  than  one  nor  more  than  five  years  in  the  penitentiary.  After  a  short 
consultation,  the  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  set  the  penalty  at  one 
year  in  the  penitentiary. 

"The  whole  business  of  the  court  was  carried  on  more  like  a  general  school 
of  instruction  to  a  class  of  students  than  anything  else  that  the  writer  can 
compare  it  to.  A  local  attorney,  Mr.  JMorse,  who  had  a  client,  and  wishcnl 
to  get  a  continuance  of  his  case,  had  prepared  an  affidavit  setting  forth  the 
reasons  for  not  being  ready  for  trial.  In  the  affidavit  there  was  some  very 
strong  language  used  in  behalf  of  his  client,  to  wliirli  Judge  Davis  listened  as 
long  as  he  could,  but,  after  a  little,  exclaimed,  'Tut,  tut,  tut,  young  man,  you 
should  never  get  your  client  to  swear  to  any  such  thing  as  that.  Never  allow 
3^our  clients  to  perjure  themselves.  It  is  the  duty  of  an  attorney  to  keep  his 
client  out  of  trouble,  and  not  get  him  into  it.'   " 

I'rior  to  the  formation  of  the  fourteenth  judicial  ciivuit,  in  187-4,  the  dis- 
trict Iiad  been  so  large  that  Ihc  jiulges  could  not  give  the  necessary  time  to 
our  (ounly  to  dispose  of  Ihe  husincss.  Since  that  (hite,  the  business  has  ])een 
kept  well  in  haiul,  it  being  the  fre(|ucnt  custom  when  cases  could  not  otherwise 
be  disposed  of,  to  lioid  night  sessions. 


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HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  293 

Judge  Tipton,  of  Bloomingtou,  at  one  time  to  clear  the  docket  of  long 
pending  cases,  made  a  custom  of  holding  court  until  near  midnight,  and  some- 
times even  later,  or  rather  earlier. 

Our  judges  have  all  been  men  of  integrity  and  tilled  their  positions  with 
credit  to  themselves  and  satisfaction  to  the  people. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  confidence  of  the  bar  and  litigants  in  the  court, 
there  was  one  term  when  a  full  week  passed  in  the  trial  of  causes,  and  in  only 
one  case  was  a  jury  called;  in  all  the  others  by  agreement,  jury  was  waived, 
and  trial  had  before  the  court. 

One  of  the  most  aggravated  murders  committed  thus  far  in  the  history  of 
our  county  was  that  of  Robert  A.  ^filler.  He  was  a  farmer,  Avell  advanced 
in  life,  of  quiet,  kindly  disposition,  loved  by  his  neighbors,  respected  by  all 
and  without  a  single  enemy  as  far  as  he  knew.  For  many  years  he  had  lived 
on  his  farm  in  the  north  part  of  Wall  township,  some  seven  miles  northwest 
of  Paxton. 

On  the  early  morning  of  October  7,  1875,  he  took  his  cows  to  water  to  a 
well,  some  little  distance  from  the  house  by  the  edge  of  a  cornfield.  A  nephew 
of  Miller,  Willis  Conn,  a  single  man  some  twenty  years  of  age,  who  lived  near 
Rantoul,  hatl  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before  come  to  Paxton  and  bought  a 
revolver.  After  testing  it,  he  procured  sufficient  lunch  for  his  supper  and 
breakfast,  ami  then  went  to  a  vacant  house  in  the  neighborhood  of  Robert  A. 
]\Iiller,  where  he  spent  the  night.  Very  early  in  the  morning,  he  had  come 
down  to  his  uncle's,  and  had  concealed  himself  in  the  corn  just  near  this  well, 
close  to  where  he  knew  his  victim  would  pass  in  watering  his  stock.  When 
his  uncle  had  come  near  enough  to  gratify  his  murderous  desire,  he  fired  the 
shot  with  deadly  certainty,  the  ball  entering  the  right  side  and  penetrating  near 
the  heart. 

His  uncle  fell  mortally  wounded ;  l)ut  not  satisfied  with  this  Conn  rushed 
up  to  the  fallen  body,  and,  putting  the  weapon  close  to  the  head  of  his  victim, 
fired  the  second  shot,  and  immediately  disappeared.  As  soon  as  the  neigh- 
bors received  the  alarm,  and  gathered  in  sufficient  numbers,  search  was  at  once 
begun  for  the  murderer,  and  a  messenger  sent  to  the  sheriff^  at  Paxton.  On 
receiving  word  of  the  tragedy,  warrant  was  issued,  and  Sheriff:  Lyman  started 
for  the  scene. 

About  a  mile  out  of  town,  he  met  a  man  afoot,  who  told  him  he  was  the 
party  he  was  looking  for,  and  that  he  had  shot  Uncle  Bobby  Miller,  and  gave 
himself  up.  Conn  was  at  once  taken  into  custody,  put  in  jail,  and  held  to 
await  his  trial. 


294  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Circuit  court  sat  in  December,  when  he  was  indicted,  and  his  trial  began 
December  9,  1875,  and  lasted  four  days.  A.  Sample,  states  attorney,  was 
assisted  by  M.  H.  Cloud  in  the  prosecution,  and  the  prisoner  was  represented 
by  M.  B.  Thomson,  of  Urbana,  Illinois.  No  trouble  was  experienced  in  impan- 
eling a  jury.  The  ground  of  defense  was  insanity,  which  was  most  persistently 
presented  by  defendant's  counsel.  The  fact  and  circumstances  of  the  killing 
were  not  disputed.  A  number  of  physicians  of  reputation  testified  as  to  the 
mental  condition  of  the  prisoner.  Some  to  the  effect  that  he  was  wholly  irre- 
sponsible for  his  acts,  and  others  that,  while  at  times  this  might  be  true,  yet 
that  he  had  the  power  to  distinguish  between  right  and  wrong,  and  if  so,  was 
responsible. 

The  law  in  regard  to  insanity  as  a  defense  for  crime  was  laid  down  by  the 
court  to  the  jury  in  two  instructions,  which  were  as  follows: 

"The  court  instructs  the  jury  for  the  people  that  the  complete  possession 
of  reason  is  not  essential  to  constitute  the  legal  responsibility  of  the  offender, 
and  although  the  jury  may  believe  from  the  evidence  that  at  the  time  of  the 
act  the  person  was  not  of  sound  mind;  yet,  if  the  jury  believe  from  the  evi- 
dence beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  that  the  prisoner  had  the  power  to  distinguish 
right  from  wrong,  and  to  adhere  to  the  right  and  avoid  the  wrong  as  applied 
to  the  particular  act  charged,  then  he  is  responsible  to  the  law  for  his  act. 

"The  jury  are  instructed  for  the  defendant,  that  if  they  believe  from  the 
evidence  in  the  case  that  at  the  time  of  the  killing  that  said  defendant  was 
insane,  and  that  though  they  may  believe  he  had  some  idea  of  right  and 
wrong;  yet  if  the  jury  believe  from  all  the  evidence  that  the  defendant  was 
driven  to  said  act  by  an  irresponsible  insane  impulse  which  he  was  on  account 
of  such  insanity  unable  to  control,  then,  and  in  that  case,  there  Avould  be  no 
such  intent  to  commit  crime  charged,  and  in  that  case  the  jury  should  find  the 
defendant  not  guilty." 

The  prisoner  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for 
twenty  years.  His  conduct  and  appearance  during  the  trial  tended  strongly 
to  prove  that  he  was  not  in  his  right  mind.  He  sat  heedless  during  the  inves- 
tigation, showing  neither  concern  nor  fear,  and  save  when  the  verdict  was  read 
in  open  court,  did  he  seem  to  realize  the  terrible  punishment  before  him.  He 
was  promptly  sentenced  and  taken  to  Joliet,  but  only  lived  to  serve  about  two 
years  of  his  time. 

On  December  19,  1878,  Joseph  Borowick,  living  in  the  southern  part  of 
Sullivant  township,  the  head  of  a  family  of  Polanders,  was  shot  and  mortally 
wounded.       Investigation  developed  the  fact  that  they  had  procured  a  large 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  295 

quantity  of  liquor  and  taken  it  home,  when  hiniseli:  and  family  had  indulged 
very  freely  in  its  use. 

The  old  gentleman-  while  in  this  condition,  as  was  his  wont,  undertook  the 
task  of  whipping  his  wife.  In  the  progress  of  the  trouble,  his  stepson,  Maik 
Borowick,  became  involved,  and,  as  was  supposed,  in  defense  of  his  mother, 
fired  the  shot  which  caused  the  killing. 

]\Iaik  was  at  once  arrested,  sent  to  jail,  indicted  at  the  April  and  tried 
at  the  August  term  of  circuit  court,  1879,  his  Honor,  Judge  Reeves  presiding. 
A.  Sample,  state's  attorney,  prosecuted,  and  Judge  Tipton,  of  Bloomingt<.n, 
defended  the  prisoner. 

The  trial  was  beset  with  many  difficulties.  The  chief  witnesses  were 
Poles  and  Bohemians,  and  being  uiuible  to  speak  our  language,  had  to  be  ques- 
tioned through  an  interpreter.  The  best  interpreter  that  could  be  obtained 
was,  in  many  instances,  unable  to  make  the  witness  fully  understand  the  ques- 
tions of  the  lawyers,  or  obtain  an  intelligent  answer.  The  evidence  was 
entirely  circumstantial,  and  that  not  the  strongest  class.  The  weather  was 
extremely  hot,  the  defendant  and  his  mother  appeared  largely  indifferent  to 
the  progress  of  the  trial,  and  the  public  took  but  little  interest  in  the  case. 

The  trial  lasted  three  days,  and  a  verdict  of  guilty  of  manslaughter  was 
rendered,  and  ]\Iaik  Borowick  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  a  term  of 
five  years — five  days  to  be  spent  in  solitary  confinement  and  the  residue  at 
hard  labor.  While  the  prisoner  manifested  no  great  anxiety  in  his  trial,  when 
it  was  over  and  he  understood  that  his  punishment  was  imprisonment  and  not 
hanging,  he  seemed  very  highly  pleased. 

A  trial  that  attracted  a  great  deal  of  public  interest  was  that  of  The  Peo- 
ple vs  Abram  G.  Plendryx. 

On  April  2G,  1880,  in  Padua  township,  McLean  county,  Illinois,  Henry 
Stovenour  and  Frank  Bailey  were  killed,  and  Hendryx  was  on  INIay  5  indicted 
by  the  grand  jury  of  McLean  county  for  committing  the  offense.  On  the  peti- 
tion of  the  defendant,  change  of  venue  was  granted  to  Ford  county,  where 
trial  was  had  at  the  December  term  of  circuit  court,  1880,  his  Honor,  Judge 
Reeves,  presiding. 

The  case  was  very  hotly  contested,  the  people  being  represented  by  States 
Attorney  Porter,  of  McLean,  and  Cook,  of  Ford  county,  and  General  Schenck, 
of  Indiana.  Messrs.  Tipton  &  Ryan,  of  Bloomiugton,  and  John  R.  Kinnear, 
of  Paxton,  appearing  for  the  defendant. 

The  trial  lasted  eleven  days,  while  over  two  hnndred  witnesses  were  in 
attendance  from  INIcLean  comity.       Great  interest  was  manifested  by  the  pub- 


296  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

lie,  and  crowds  filled  the  courtroom  during  the  progress  of  the  trial.  The  plea 
relied  on  by  prisoner's  counsel  to  secure  acquittal  was  that  of  self-defense, 
Avhich  was  urged  with  great  ingenuity  and  persistency  in  the  selection  of  the 
jury  and  during  the  progress  of  the  trial.  An  entire  day  was  occupied  by 
counsel  in  presenting  the  case  to  the  jury.  The  trial  was  concluded  late  in 
the  afternoon,  and  the  jury  then  retired.  After  Ix'ing  out  about  three  hours, 
a  verdict  of  "not  guilty"  was  returned,  and  the  prisoner  was  discharged.  The 
costs  in  this  case  to  JMcLean  county  were  several  thousand  dollars,  and  to  Ford 
county  not  a  few  hundred. 

The  following  gentlemen  sat  on  the  jury  in  this  case :  Ira  W.  Hand, 
James  Boyd,  Charles  A.  Cook,  Joseph  Bushnell,  William  II.  Crowe,  Fred 
Potts,  Frank  P.  Xewhart,  James  F.  Ellis,  Jacob  Snider,  John  Clayton,  Isaac 
Palmer  and  E.  Atw^ood. 

A  homicide  which  our  circuit  court  was  called  upon  to  investigate  was 
that  of  Abram  Thorp.  He  was  a  young  man  and  unmarried.  He  had  lived 
in  the  vicinity  of  Paxton,  near  Trickel's  Grove.  On  Sabbath  morning,  Sej)- 
tember  30,  1883,  his  dead  body  was  found  lying  on  the  sawdust  in  Larkin's 
ice-house,  located  in  the  alley  in  the  rear  of  the  St.  Elmo  Restaurant.  He  had 
apparently  been  killed  by  a  severe  blow  on  his  head. 

James  Ryan  was  at  once  suspected  and  arrested.  At  the  coroner's  inquest 
it  Mas  shown  that  Ryan  and  Thorp  had  a  difficulty  the  night  previous,  during 
which  Thorp  had  severely  bitten  Ryan's  lip;  that  both  men  were  more  or  less 
intoxicated,  and  that  early  Sabbath  morning  Ryan  had  said  in  substance  that 
"he  had  got  even  with  Abe." 

On  this  and  other  evidence  he  was  held  for  the  grand  jury,  and  was 
indicted  in  December,  but  obtained  a  continuance  until  the  April  term,  1884, 
when  his  trial  was  had.  The  case  was  called  and  jury  selected  on  Tuesday 
tlie  8th,  and  verdict  was  I'didcrcd  on  the  following  Saturday.  Some  thirty 
witnesses  were  sworn  on  behalf  the  people  and  about  the  same  number  for  the 
defense.  A.  Sample  was  associated  with  F.  L.  Cook,  states  attorney,  in  the 
prosecution,  which  was  most  vigorous. 

The  prisoner  being  unable  to  employ  counsel,  his  honor.  Judge  Reeves,  at 
the  term  at  which  indictment  was  found,  assigned  as  his  attorneys  E.  C.  Gray 
and  Judge  Tipton,  who  were  assisted  on  the  trial  by  J.  II.  IMoffett.  Tlic 
plea  of  Ryan  was  "not  guilty."  The  evidence,  though  wholly  circiunstan- 
tial,  satisfied  the  jury  beyond  doubt  of  the  defendant's  guilt.  The  jury  retired 
on  Friday  afternoon,  and  Saturday  morning  returned  their  verdict,  which  was: 


i 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  "  297 

"We,  the  jiiry  find  tlie  defendant  guilty,  and  fix  the  term  of  his  imprisonment 
in  the  penitentiary  at  thirty-three  years." 

Great  loeal  interest  was  shown  in  the  trial,  and  when  the  arguments  of 
counsel  were  made  the  courtroom  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity. 


COUNTY  OFFICIALS. 


COUNTY    JUDGE. 


David  Patton,  from  June  1859  to  December,  1873 ;  Hugh  P.  Beach,  1873- 
86;  Milton  H.  Cloud,  1886-90;  Alex  ]\IcElroy,  1890-1904;  H.  II.  Kerr,  1904- 
1908. 

COUNTY    CLERK. 

Nathan  Simons,  1859,  until  his  death,  August  29,  1865;  John  I.  Simons, 
August  31,  1865,  to  December,  1865;  James  S.  Frederick,  1865-73;  INIerton 
Dunlap,  1873-1892 ;  William  B.  Flora,  1892-1908. 


COUNTY  TREASURER. 

Daniel  C.  Stoner,  June,  1859,  to  November,  1859 ;  John  P.  Day,  Novem- 
ber, 1859-65;  James  P.  Button,  1865,  to  March  22,  1866;  John  P.  Day,  March, 
1866-69;  Leonard  Pierpont,  1869-73;  James  D.  Kilgore,  1873,  to  September, 
1874;  John  B.  Shaw,  September,  1874-86;  Nils  Dahlgren,  1886-1890;  Oscar  V. 
Ilohugram,  1890-1892;  N.  W.  Peterson,  1892-1896;  T.  J.  Sower,  1896-1900; 
Tim  Ross,  1900-1904;  Thomas  Crowe,  1904-1908. 


CLERK   OF   THE   CIRCUIT   COURT. 

Samuel  L.  Day,  1859-64;  James  F.  Hall,  1864-68;  Levi  A.  Dodd,  1868-72; 
Weaver  White,  1872-76;  Augustus  M.  Daggett,  1876-80;  Weaver  White,  1880- 
84;  John  F.  G.  Helmer,  1884-1888;  Oscar  H.  Wylie,  1892-1896;  Tlumias  D. 
Thompsou,  1896-1908. 


STATES    ATTORNEY. 

Previous  to  LS72  the  district  of  the  states  attorn(\v  was  coextensive  with  that 
of  the  circi\it  .judge  Init  by  an  act  passed  in  1872  each  county  elected  a  states 


298 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 


attorney.  The  names  of  the  g:entlemen  who  served  as  states  attorney  at  the 
various  sessions  of  onr  circuit  courts  up  to  1872.  are:  Ward  H.  Lamon,  Ver- 
milion county;  J.  G.  Cannon,  of  Douglas  county;  and  M.  B.  Thompson,  of 
Champaign  countj^ 

Under  the  election  hy  counties,  the  list  for  Ford  is  as  follows : 
Alfred  Sample,  1872-80;  France  L.  Cook,  1880-88;  A.  L.  Phillips,   1892- 
1902;  L.  A.  Cranston,  1902-1908. 

SHERIFF. 

Howard  Case,  1859-60;  James  D.  Hall.  1860-62;  Edward  L.  Gill.  1862-64; 
William  Snyder,  1864-66;  Mark  Parsons,  April  9,  1866,  to  November  14,  1866; 
Thomas  E.  Barnhouse,  1866-68;  S.  L.  Edgar,  1868-70;  Edward  L.  Gill,  1870- 
74;  Samuel  B.  Lyman,  1874-82;  James  W.  Ramsay,  1882-86;  Benjamin  F. 
Mason,  1886-90;  James  R.  Rezner,  1890-94;  B.  F.  Mason,  1894-98;  Tim  Ross, 
1898-1902 ;  Thomas  Crowe,  1902-06 ;  John  H.  Nelson,  1906-08. 


COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS. 

William  W.  Blanchard,  1859-63;  Robert  McCracken,  1863-65;  J.  B.  Ran- 
dolph, 1865-67;  W.  C.  LeFevre,  1867-69;  James  Brown,  1869-71;  William  L. 
Conrow,  1871-73;  Robert  N.  Gorsuch,  1873-77;  Daniel  H.  Armstrong,  1877,  to 
February,  1879 ;  Samuel  A.  Armstrong,  March,  1879,  to  September,  1882 ;  John 
M.  Hanley,  September,  1882,  to  December,  1882;  Franz  G.  Lohman.  1882-90; 
Edward  A.  Gardener,  1890-1906;  H.  M.  Rudolph,  1906-08. 


SURVEYOR. 

James  W.  Campbell,  1859-61;  Jonathan  Covalt,  1861-63;  John  F.  Stoner, 
1863-69;  Henry  J.  Howe,  1869-75;  Henry  McCulloch,  1875-79;  Charles  B. 
Ellis,  1879-83  ;John  R.  Lewis,  1884,  1888,  1900;  C.  R.  Ilelmer,  1900-1908. 


CORONER. 

Wheeler  Bentley,  1859-62;  John  IT.  Evans,  1862-66;  Wheeler  Bentley, 
1866-67;  D.  R.  Francis,  1867-68;  F.  F.  Fuller,  1868-70;  George  B.  Walker, 
1870-72;  John  S.  Bodwcll,  1872-74;  John  F.  G.  Ilelmer,  1874-78;  John  C.  Cul- 
ver, 1878-80;  Charles  Bradley,  1880-82;  Hiram  W.  Barney,  1882-86;  E.  B. 
Perry,  1886-1888;  W.  A.  Bicket,  1888-1892;  W.  A.  Hutchison,  1900-1908. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  299 

JUDGES  OF   CIRCUIT   COURT   PX)R  ELEVENTH    CIRCUIT,   FROM    1877   TO    1908. 

Owen  T.  Reeves,  Bloomington ;  Nathaniel  J.  Pillsbury,  Pontiae ;  Franklin 
Blades,  Watseka;  Alfred  Sample,  Paxton;  Thomas  F.  Tipton,  Bloomington; 
Charles  R.  Starr,  Kankakee ;  Colestin  D.  Myers,  Bloomington ;  George  W.  Pat- 
ton,  Pontiae ;  John  II.  Moffett,  Paxton ;  Thomas  M.  Harris,  Lincoln. 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

By  the  aet  of  January  31,  1861,  the  representation  was  fixed  at  twenty-five 
senators  and  eighty-five  representatives.  Ford  county  was  placed  in  the  ninth 
senatorial  district  and  the  forty-second  representative  district.  This  being  the 
first  appointment  since  the  organization  of  Ford,  the  county  was  represented 
for  the  two  preceding  years  in  the  senate  Ijy  Thomas  A.  Marshall,  of  Coles,  and 
in  the  house  of  representatives  for  the  same  time  by  Samuel  G.  Craig,  of  Ver- 
milion. The  ninth  senatorial  district  included  the  counties  of  Coles,  Douglas, 
Champaign,  Ford,  Iroquois,  Vermilion.  Colonel  Charles  Bogardus  repre- 
sented Ford  county  in  the  senate,  from  1888  to  1899. 

Ford  county  was  represented  in  the  lower  house  by  Charles  Bogardus, 
from  1884  to  1888;  John  A.  Montelius,  1901  to  1903;  A.  L.  Phillips,  1905 
to  1907. 


THE   FIRST    COURTHOUSE. 

When  the  new  county  of  Ford  was  organized,  a  great  and  pressing  want 
was  a  suitable  place  for  holding  court,  rooms  for  county  officers  and  a  jail. 
There  had  been  considerable  discussion  as  to  the  proper  site  for  the  county 
buildings,  and  some  propositions  were  presented  to  the  county  court  in  regard 
thereto.  However,  on  tlie  16th  day  of  January,  1860,  the  question  was  defi- 
nitely settled  by  an  order  entered  in  the  county  court  providing  for  the  loca- 
tion of  the  courthouse  and  jail  on  the  site  where  the  present  one  now  stands. 

In  June  of  the  same  year,  an  agreement  was  entered  into  for  the  erection 
of  the  courthouse ;  the  county  judge  and  associate  justices  representing  the 
county,  and  James  F.  Hall  being  the  contractor. 

The  original  cost  as  provided  in  the  contract  was  fixed  at  eleven  thousand 
dollars  but  tlie  plans  being  afterward  somewhat  changed  and  enlarged  permission 
was  granted  by  a  vote  of  the  people,  April,  1861,  to  add  four  thousand  dollars 
to   the  first  amount.       In  December,  1861,    an  additional     contract     was  made 


300  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

with  Mr.  Hall,  and  the  total  price  increased  to  sixteen  thousand  dollars,  the 
additional  cost  being  for  excavation  of  the  basement,  grading  the  yard  and 
construction  of  outbuildings. 

On  February  13,  1862,  the  building  was  accepted  by  the  board  of  super- 
visors, and  a  county  order  issued  to  ]\Ir.  Hall  for  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  ninety  dollars.  The  records  are  not  very  cle;ir  as  to  this  sum.  tlie  writer 
being  under  the  impression  that  this  was  the  balance  still  unpaid  on  the  six- 
teen thousand  dollars,  until  assured  by  parties  conversant  with  the  facts  that 
this  last  payment  was  for  additional  improvements  not  named  in  the  contracts. 
This  would  bring  the  total  cost  of  the  courthouse,  as  it  then  stood,  up  to 
eighteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety  dollars.  The  explanation  for 
these  additions  to  the  original  contract  price  is  made  "that  the  original  plan 
was  found  unsatisfactory,  and  that  it  was  thought  best  to  make  the  change  at 
that  time  rather  than  after  the  work  was  completed  under  the  first  contract." 
Nothing  appears  to  the  contrary  but  that  the  supervisors  and  others  represent- 
ing the  county  acted  wisely  in  this  regard.  Bonds  were  issued  for  sixteen 
thousand  dollars,  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent  per  annum. 

The  courthouse  as  first  built,  contained  on  the  first  or  ground  floor  offices 
for  the  county  clerk,  circuit  clerk,  and  sheriff,  rooms  for  the  jailer  and  family 
and  cells  for  the  prisoners.      The  second  floor  contained  court  and  jury  rooms. 

After  completion  of  the  jail,  the  cells  in  the  courthouse  were  removed, 
and  in  their  stead  the  circuit  clerk's  office  was  fitted  up.  The  county  clerk 
occupied  the  room  formerly  used  by  the  jailer.  In  INIarch,  1875.  a  contract 
was  entered  into  with  William  Daniels  for  building  fire-proof  vaults  at  the 
west  end  of  the  courthouse,  and  other  improvements,  including  the  fitting  up 
of  the  clerk's  offices  as  already  mentioned.  The  total  cost  of  the  same  was 
two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-nine  dollars  and  eighty  cents.  The  court- 
house was  of  ample  size  to  meet  the  wants  of  our  county  for  many  years. 


SHERIFF'S  RESIDENCE  AND  JAIL. 

At  a  session  of  the  board  of  supervisors.  INlay,  1871,  a  committee,  consist- 
ing of  Supervisors  C.  E.  Henderson.  William  Noel  and  James  H.  Flagg,  was 
appointed,  with  instructions  "to  examine  iiilo  tbc  matter  of  building  a  new 
jail  or  to  repair  the  old  one  so  as  to  l)e  capable  of  holding  prisoners,  and  for 
that  purpose  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  go  abroad  and  examine  such  jails 
as  in  their  judgment  will  be  suitable." 


iiii  -taiiiU 


FORD  COUNTY  INFIRMARY,  PAXTON 


H 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  303 

At  the  meeting  of  the  board  in  June,  the  committee  reported,  as  the  result 
of  tlieir  labors,  a  plan  for  a  county  jail.  The  board  accepted  the  report  and 
decided  in  favor  of  erecting  a  sheriff's  residence  and  a  jail.  The  plan  pre- 
sented by  the  committee  was  followed. 

The  board  again  met  in  July  of  the  same  year,  and  appropriated  twenty 
thousand  dollars  for  the  erection  of  the  buildings  named  and  directed  the 
count\'  clerk  to  issue  county  orders  from  time  to  time  as  directed  by  the  build- 
ing committee,  but  not  to  exceed  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The 
orders  were  to  bear  interest  at  ten  per  cent  per  annum. 

Six-tenths  of  the  county  tax  collected  each  year  was  set  apart  to  meet  the 
payment  of  these  county  orders.  jMessrs.  Henderson,  Noel  and  Flagg  were 
placed  in  charge  of  the  work  on  behalf  of  the  county. 

In  September,  1871,  the  board  made  an  additional  appropriation  of  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  "for  the  completion  of  the  sheriff's  residence  and  jail,  said 
orders  to  bear  interest  at  ten  per  cent  per  annum,  six  thousand  dollars  to  be 
paid  in  five  years,  and  six  thousand  dollars  in  ten  years."  The  total  cost 
of  these  buildings,  not  including  discounts  on  county  orders,  was  something 
more  than  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars.  This  is  ascertained  by  the  orders 
issued  and  estimating  discounts  on  the  same,  there  being  no  funds  in  the  county 
treasurv  at  the  time. 


THE  NEW  COURTHOUSE. 

The  old  courthouse  was  a  scene  of  many  interesting  things  in  the  history 
of  the  county.  ]\Iany  men,  who  afterward  became  distinguished  citizens  of 
the  nation,  took  part  in  the  varied  litigation  conducted  in  its  courtrooms. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned,  Ex-Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  David  Davis,  now  dead;  Hon.  J.  G.  Cannon,  speaker  of  the 
national  house  of  representatitves ;  and  in  the  early  days  states  attorney  of  the 
district  then  including  Ford  county. 

In  December.  1905,  a  decision  was  reached  by  the  board  of  supervisors 
to  remodel  the  old  courthouse.  At  the  following  January  meeting  the  sum 
to  be  expended  for  the  work  was  fixed  at  fifty-five  thousand  dollars.  The 
plans  for  the  practically  new  structure  were  awarded  to  Joseph  W.  Royer, 
of  Urbana,  Illinois,  and  he  was  employed  as  architect.  John  lehl,  H.  A. 
MeClure  and  J.  P.  Glass  were  named  as  the  first  building  committee. 

The  new  building  is  located  on  the  site  of  the  old  courthouse  at  Paxton, 
and   is    a    two-story    and    basement    building,    ninety-four   by    eighty    feet    in 


304  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

extreme  dimensions.  It  is  constructed  in  a  most  su1)stantial  manner,  accord- 
ing to  the  latest  and  most  approved  methods  used  in  modern  fire-proof  buildings, 
the  materials  used  being  concrete,  stone,  terra  cotta  and  steel.  The  building 
is  designed  in  tlie  renaissance  style  of  architecture,  all  molding,  pilasters, 
cornices,  etc.,  having  classic  outlines.  The  beautiful  structure  is  sur- 
mounted b>'  a  low  copper-covered  dome.  The  base,  entrance-ways,  quoins  on 
corners  and  architraves  around  windows  are  of  buif  Bedford  stone.  The  cor- 
nice and  cartouches  are  of  terra  cotta,  while  tlie  balistrade  around  the  roof  is 
of  brick  and  stone.  All  exterior  portions  of  the  building,  where  stone  and 
terra  cotta  are  not  used,  are  laid  up  in  very  dark,  vitrified  brick,  thus  giving 
a  great  contrast.  The  roof  is  made  of  tile  laid  in  concrete,  which,  in  turn, 
is  supported  by  steel  trusses  and  beams.  The  heighth  of  the  main  corridor 
from  the  ground  is  forty  feet,  and  the  heighth  of  dome,  at  base  of  flag-staff, 
is  seventy-two  feet. 

The  interior  of  the  linilding  is  finished  throughout  in  best  manner,  all 
floors  and  walls  being  fire-proof.  All  corridors  and  public  spaces  in  offices  have 
tile  floors  and  marble  wainscoating.  The  stairs  are  of  iron  and  steel,  with 
marble  treads  and  landings.  The  woodwork  throughout  is  of  white  oak,  with 
furniture  and  fixtures  to  match.  The  interior  is  decorated  in  oil  colors,  very 
artistically  executed,  and  presents  a  very  pleasing  effect  to  the  eye,  as  well 
as  being  extremely  durable. 

The  basement  is  occupied  by  storage  vaults,  boiler  room,  fuel  room,  work 
room,  Grand  Army  room  and  coroner's  room,  and  is  aided  by  a  stair  leading 
from  main  corridor  on  first  Hoor. 

The  first  floor  is  occupied  l)y  the  principal  officers  of  the  county.  As 
you  enter  the  l)uilding  at  the  center  of  the  front,  you  find  at  the  right,  the 
county  clerk's,  county  treasurer's  and  the  county  judge's  rooms.  On  the  left, 
are  the  offices  of  the  circuit  clerk,  the  sheriff'  and  tlic  board  of  supervisors. 
All  principal  offices  are  provided  with  ample  vault  room  and  private  offices. 

The  stairs  leading  from  the  first  to  the  second  floor,  are  directly  in  line 
with  the  main  entrance,  and  form  one  of  the  main  features  of  the  building. 

On  Die  second  floor  are  the  offices  of  the  county  superintendent  of  schools 
and  the  states  attorney;  also  the  circuit  courtroom,  jury  room,  lawyers  room, 
law  library,  judge's  private  office  and  toilet  rooms  for  men  and  women,  as  well 
as  the  ladies  waiting  room. 

While  th(>  Ford  comity  courthouse  is  not  as  large  as  those  of  some  other 
c(mnties,  a  careful  inspection  of  the  building  will  convince  one  that,  owing  to 
the  convenient  arrangement  and  equipment,  the  accommodations  of  the  build- 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  305 

ing  are  equal  to  those  of  many  larger  and- more  costlj'  struetures.  The  building 
is  fully  equipped  with  electric  lights  and  fixtures,  and  is  also  piped  throughout 
for  gas. 

The  new  courthouse  building,  in  which  the  people  take  the  greatest  pride, 
was  dedicated  with  appropriate  exercises,  June  11,  1908.  The  building  was 
occupied  early  in  the  fall  of  1907. 

The  following  were  the  dedicatory  services : 


NEW  FORD  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE 

P^VXTON,    ILLINOIS. 

Thursday,  June  11,  A.  D.   3908 

MASTER    OF    CEREMONIES — JUDGE    M.    H.    CLOUD. 
MASTER    OF    PARADES    AND    PROCESSIONS — MAYOR    C.    E.    BEACH. 
CHIEF  MARSHAL — E.   A.   GARDNER. 
AIDES — AUGUST  KOEHNE,  A.  DILLON,  JOHN  WALDRON  AND  D.  M.  BRENEISA. 

TEN   o'clock   a.    M. 

Music   Paxton  Band 

Invocation    Rev.   G.  E.  Hemdahl 

Music    Double  ]\Iale   Quartet 

Address  of  Welcome  on  Behalf  of  Ford  County   J.  P.  Glass 

Address  of  Welcome  on  Behalf  of  City  of  Paxton.  .JMayor  C.  E.  Beach 

Response  to  Addresses  of  Welcome    J.  P.   Smith 

Music Double  j\Iale  Quartet 

Address    H.    A.   McClure 

Address   : Judge  C.  D.  Myers 

DINNER. 

ONE   THIRTY   O'CLOCK    P.    M. 

Civic   Parade,   Led  by   Fourth   Regiment   Uniform    Rank   Knights   of 
Pythias,  under  Connnand  of  Colonel  John  Bertoni. 

Music   Paxton  Band 

Vocal   Selection    Chorus  of  School   Children 

Presentation  of  Keys  of  New  Courthouse  by  John  lehl,  introduced  by 
J.  W.  Gilkerson,  Chairman  of  Building  Committee. 
Response  and  Acceptance  of  Keys  by  George  Stockdale,  Chairman  of 
Board  of  Supervisors. 


306  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Mnak'   Double  ]\Iale  Quartet 

Addresrj    Hon.   I.  N.  Phillips 

Music    Paxton  Band 

Address  Judge  T.  ^I.  Harris 

Address  Judge  G.  W.  Patton 


THE  FORD  COUNTY  AL]\rSHOUSE  AND  POOR  FARM. 

The  county  almshouse  was  erected  in  1897.  It  is  built  of  brick,  with  stone 
trimmings,  three  stories  with  basement  and  attic.  It  has  accommodations  for 
about  fifty  inmates  and  is  equipped  with  ample  facilities  for  their  care.  There 
are  also  good,  substantial  outbuildings,  such  as  barn,  toolhouse,  slaughterhouse, 
sheds,  etc. 

The  farm  is  composed  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  and  fifty-seven  hun- 
dredths acres  and  is  kept  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  well  stocked  with 
the  necessary  farm  animals,  n)achinery,  etc.  The  pauper  relief  expenses  of  the 
county  have  been  much  reduced  since  this  farm  was  purchased  and  put  in 
operation. 

LAFAYETTE,  BLOOMINGTON  &  I\IISSISSIPPI  RAILROAD 

BONDS. 

On  November  6.  1867,  an  election  was  held  to  determine  "whether  said 
county  of  Ford  shall  subscrilie  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  Lafayette.  Blooming- 
ton  &  Mississippi  Railway  to  the  amount  of  four  thousand  dollars  per  mile, 
for  tlie  distance  which  said  road  shall  traverse  said  Ford  county  to  aid  in  the 
foustruction  of  said  railway." 

This  subscription  amounted  to  one  lumdi-ed  and  twelve  thousand  dollars, 
the  distance  ])eing  twenty-eight  miles.  A  majority  of  votes  were  cast  for  the 
project. 

On  .laiiiKify  17.  1868,  an  election  was  held  "to  dctcr-mine  whether  said 
county  sliall  subscri])e  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  Lafayette,  Bloomington  & 
Mississippi  Railway  to  the  amount  of  thirty  thousand  dolhirs,  in  addition  to 
what  has  already  been  subscribed." 

This  pi'ojxjsition  was  also  adopted.  In  December,  1871,  a  coiiunittee  rep- 
resenting the  ])oar(l  of  supervisors  reported  that  the  railroad  company  had 
complied  with  all  r('(|iiirements  of  the  l)oar(l.  The  (lucstion  arising  upon  issuing 
the  bonds  as  voted  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  forty-two  thousand  dol- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  307 

lars,  David  Keigliin,  then  a  supervisor  from  IMona,  introduced  a  resolution 
fixing  the  rate  of  interest  at  six  per  cent,  which  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  six 
to  five. 

On  January  2,  1872,  the  board  ordered  the  bonds  issued  for  the  full  amount, 
payable  in  ten  .years,  with  interest  at  ten  i^er  cent  per  annum.  The  certifi- 
cate of  stock  was  thereupon  issued  at  the  county  by  the  railroad  authorities. 

Similar  certificates  were  issued  to  other  counties  and  several  townships 
which  had  voted  aid  to  this  railroad.  It  was  afterward  claimed  by  these  coun- 
ties and  townships  that  this  was  the  only  bona  fide  stock  in  this  railroad, 
notwithstanding  that  certificates  of  stock  had  been  issued  to  indivduals  by  the 
directors  of  said  road  in  sufficient  amounts  to  control  the  elections  in  selecting 
directors ;  and  thus  control  the  railroad. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1873,  the  board  directed  Alfred  Sample,  states  attor- 
ney, to  investigate  the  management  and  records  of  said  railroad.  Mr.  Sample 
did  so  and  made  an  exhaustive  and  satisfactory  report  to  the  board  of  the 
results  of  his  labors,  he  having  carefully  examined  the  company's  books  at 
Toledo,  Ohio.  At  the  next  annual  meeting  for  the  election  of  directors  of  the 
Lafayette,  Bloomington  &  Mississippi  Railway,  held  at  Bloomington,  Illinois, 
January  20,  1874,  representatives  of  the  several  townships  and  counties 
appeared  and  presented  their  claims  to  be  heard,  etc.  A  warm,  interesting  and 
somewhat  noisy  meeting  was  held,  which  resulted  in  those  representing  the 
railroad  company  withdrawing  and  holding  their  meeting  elsewhere. 

The  representatives  of  the  people  remained  at  the  appointed  place  and 
proceeded  to  elect  a  board  of  twelve  directors,  those  from  Ford  county  being 
0.  D.  Sackett,  Alfred  Sample,  John  H.  Collier  and  Merton  Dunlap,  who  had 
been  authorized  by  the  board  of  supervisors  to  represent  the  interests  of  this 
county  at  said  meeting. 

The  following  officers  were  then  elected:  F.  Henderson,  president;  0.  D. 
Sackett,  vice  president;  N.  S.  Sunderland,  treasurer;  A.  Sample,  attorney; 
Merton  Dunlap,  secretary. 

The  contest  for  the  control  of  the  railroad  continued  for  about  two  years 
in  the  courts,  when  the  w^hole  matter  was  suddenly  brought  to  an  end  by  the 
sale  of  the  railroad  under  the  mortgage  which  was  given  by  the  directors  of  the 
road  at  an  early  period  of  its  existence. 

While  this  relieved  Ford  county  from  any  further  responsibility  in  the 
management  of  the  railroad,  the  indebtedness  of  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
thousand  dollars  still  remained. 


308  HISTORY   OP  FORD   COUNTY 

On  Jaimai-y  22,  1S80,  a  contraet  was  entered  into  Ijetween  the  board  of 
supervisors  and  a  firm  in  New  York  eity  by  whieh  these  bonds  were  funded 
into  six  per  cent  bonds,  due  in  twenty  3^ears,  witli  the  privik^ge  to  the  county 
of  paying  the  same  any  time  after  five  years. 

It  seems  proper  in  this  connection  to  make  a  brief  menti3n  of  the  contest 
between  the  people  and  the  railroad  companies,  beginning  in  1873.  It  was 
claimed  that  the  latter  were  charging  illegal  and  unjust  rates  for  passenger 
fare  and  freights.  This  question  assumed  such  a  magnitude  in  Ford  county 
that  in  the  election  for  county  officers  in  that  year  the  voters  united  without 
regard  to  party,  and  the  "Farmers'  ticket"  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

The  state  legislature  passed  a  stringent  law  against  unjust  discrimina- 
tions, and  prescribed  that  three  cents  per  mile  for  roads  of  the  class  of  the 
Illinois  Central  should  be  the  maximum  charge  for  passenger  travel.  Rates 
for  transportation  of  freights  were  also  fixed.  A  board  of  railroad  commis- 
sioners was  appointed  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  this  law  enforced. 

The  contest  continued  in  the  court  for  several  years  with  but  little  suc- 
cess for  the  people.  In  December,  1879,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  the 
courthouse  in  Paxton,  at  which  a  resolution  was  adopted  requesting  A.  Sam- 
ple, states  attorney,  to  prosecute  all  infractions  of  the  railroad  law  in  Ford 
county.  Soon  after  this,  commissioners  met  the  business  men  and  farmers  of 
this  locality  in  this  city.  Mr.  Sample  presented  an  extended  list  of  extor- 
tionate rates  imposed  by  the  railroads  in  violation  of  law.  Of  the  commis- 
sioners, Hon.  William  Smith,  chairman,  and  Mr.  Oberly  earnestly  favored  the 
enforcement  of  the  law. 

This  meeting,  through  which  was  manifested  the  determination  of  the  peo- 
ple to  push  matters,  provoked  considerable  interest  among  the  railway  officials. 
Some  of  them  came  to  this  place  to  investigate  as  to  how  far  the  people  were 
disposed  to  go  and  if  matters  coidd  not  be  compromised. 

Briefly  stated,  after  considerable  agitation  and  correspondence  between  the 
iMJIway  managers.  Chairman  Smith  and  ^Mr.  Sample,  the  leading  roads  con- 
cluded to  comply  with  flic  law  as  to  passenger  and  freight  rat(>s.  Sul)se((U(>ntly 
another  serious  ({uestion  ai'ose  regai'ding  freights  from  within  and  with- 
out the  state,  the  companies  claiming  this  to  be  a  matter  to  be  regulated  by 
congress.  East  and  west  lines  charged,  for  example,  more  on  freight  from 
Oilman  to  New  York  city  tlian  from  Peoria,  a  distance  of  eighty-five  miles. 

The  matter  was  finally  detci-minod  in  favor  of  t]i(>  state  law  by  a  suit 
brought  ill  the  Foi'd  comity  circuit  court  In'  Mr.  Sample  in  1882.  The  case 
was    stfongly   contested     by    the     i-ailroads,    but    the    supreme    court    decided 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  3U9 

adversely  to  tlieiii,  setting  forth  the  reasons  in  one  of  tlie  most  ehiborate  opin- 
ions filed  for  years. 


WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 
Ford  county,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1861,  being  so  recently 
formed  and  having  a  population  of  less  than  two  thousand,  did  not  organize 
any  company  of  soldiers.  However,  many  of  our  patriotic  citizens  enlisted 
in  commands  organized  in  adjoining  counties  and  elsewhere  in  the  state.  It 
would  give  us  pleasure  to  publish  their  names  in  this  work,  but  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  a  complete  list  is  insurmountable,  and  a  partial  list  would  be  very 
unsatisfactory. 


BOUNTIES. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  supervisors,  August,  1862,  a  resolution  was  introduced 
by  Supervisor  Button  and  duly  adopted,  providing  for  a  county  tax  of  five 
mills  on  the  dollar  for  the  purpose  of  paying  each  volunteer  sixty  dollars  and 
to  create  a  fund  for  the  support  of  soldiers'  families  during  their  absence. 

The  following  eonnnittees  were  appointed  to  disburse  the  funds  for  sol- 
diers' families:  Patton  Township — William  Walker,  J.  H.  Flagg,  J.  F.  Hall; 
Drummer's  Grove — J.  H.  Kendall,  J.  E.  Davis,  Leonard  Pierpont;  Stockton — 
S.  K.  Marston,  T.  W.  Pope,  G.  B.  Winter.  In  December,  1863,  the  bounty 
was  increased  to  three  hundred  dollars  to  each  volunteer. 

In  April,  1864,  a  draft  having  been  ordered  to  fill  the  ciuota  of  this  county 
for  seventy-eight  men,  an  order  was  adopted  by  the  supervisors  offering  a 
bounty  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  each  man  drafted,  who  should  be  accepted 
by  the  government. 

However,  it  transpired  that  bounties  b}^  counties  exceeding  the  sum  of  three 
hundred  dollars  were  illegal,  and  efforts  were  made  to  legalize  this  one  thousand 
dollars  bountj^  by  a  special  act  of  the  general  assembly.  It  did  not  succeed, 
and  consequently  but  three  hundred  dollars  could  be  paid  to  each  man.  Feb- 
ruary, 1865,  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was  appropriated  b3'  the 
supervisors  to  procure  volunteers  to  fill  the  county  quota,  the  amount  for  each 
volunteer  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  dollars. 

The  adjutant  general's  report,  Vol.  1,  page  194,  makes  the  following  show- 
ing for  this  county: 


310  HISTORY   OP  FORD   COUNTY 

Prior  to  December  31,  1865. 

Total  quota   300 

Total  credits  222 

Deficit   of   men    78 

December  31,  1865. 

Total  quota  272 

Total  credit    271 

Deficit    1 

On  page  276  of  said  report  is  the  following,  showing  "expenditures  and 
liabilities  incurred  by  Ford  county  in  aid  of  the  suppression  of  the  late  rebel- 
lion, as  reported  to  the  adjutant  general's  office: 

Bounties    .$72,426  15 

Transportation    10,000  00 

Soldiers'  families   3,861  94 

Total    • $86,288  09 


G.  A.  R.  POSTS. 

There  are  in  this  county  three  posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
as  follows: 


LOTT  POST,  NO.  70,  G.  A.  R. 

This  post  was  organized  and  mustered  at  Gibson  November  3,  1879. 

The  following  is  the  membership  to  February  28,  1884;  Captains,  J.  II. 
Collier,  Austin  Crabbs,  Willard  Proctor.  First  Lieutenants,  J.  N.  INIcVicker, 
Samuel  Johnston,  J.  J.  McCormack,  Russell  Puntney.  Second  Lieutenant,  S. 
A.  Armstrong.  Sergeants,  R.  M.  Smith,  J.  T.  McClure,  II.  J.  Ring,  A.  J. 
Ilam.  J.  E.  Collier,  F.  P.  Wood,  Fred  Potts,  George  W.  Preston,  James  Grant, 
Frank  Du  Close,  J.  S.  Frederick.  Corporals,  S.  J.  LeFevre,  W.  II.  Vreeland, 
W.  P.  Aaron,  J.  L.  IMitchell,  Mark  Anthony,  W.  E.  IMcMullen,  S.  S.  Barnes, 
L.  L.  Garrett,  F.  IM.  Anderson,  T.  M.  Bunch.  Musicians,  R.  A.  McClure,  John 
(Jrove.       Privates,  H.  M.  Blacker,  J.  D.  P>ell,  G.  \V.  Ilaupt,  S.  A.  Plank,  Daniel 


HISTORY   OP   FORD   COUNTY  311 

Cniiuin.\-,  Charles  riiillips,  J.  N.  Vaughn,  James  Allen,  J.  D.  Corbiu,  P.  W. 
Dale,  C.  C.  Hoiidyshell,  0.  0.  Perrin,  S.  Emmons,  H.  E.  Shearer,  J.  R.  Lott, 
Ralph  IMulvane,  C.  Ashby,  W.  T.  Estes,  William  Day,  J.  M.  Phillips,  W  P. 
Jones,  E.  Barnabee,  J.  M.  Burner,  W.  H.  Simms,  M.  K.  IMeDowell,  J.  M. 
Mitchell,  V.  C.  IMcDowell,  0.  H.  Damon,  T.  B.  Stranss,  J.  W.  Rinehart,  P.  H. 
Fanght,  A.  Stratton,  W.  Bowen,  J.  G.  Barker,  M.  W.  Seott,  W.  Gilchrist,  D. 
Baylor,  L.  L.  Flora,  J.  S.  Sawyer,  Charles  B.  Payner  (saddler),  Elmer  Ashby, 
J.  W.  IMoore,  D.  S.  Hall,  V.  G.  Way,  W.  Ramey,  J.  H.  Stathem,  J.  II.  Arrow- 
smith,  Nelson  Smith,  II.  A.  Grove,  J.  R.  Gilchrist,  John  Joos,  A.  J.  Cooper,  S. 
Ross. 


PIPER   CITY   POST,   NO.    361,    G.    A.   R. 

List  of  members  to  February  28,  1884 ;  officers  1884 ;  F.  0.  Walrich,  Com- 
mander; H.  P.  Beach,  S.  V.  C;  T.  J.  Sowers,  J.  V.  C. ;  S.  D.  Culbertson, 
Surgeon ;  G.  ^L  Williams,  Adjutant ;  Ira  W.  Hand,  Chaplain ;  W.  Dick,  0.  D. ; 
J.  R.  Rezner,  0.  G. ;  J.  A.  Montelius,  Q.  M. ;  D.  W.  Turney,  S.  M. ;  C.  R.  Jack- 
son, Q.  ^I.  S.  IMembers,  Robert  Hevener,  James  Healey,  J.  G.  T.  Luther,  B. 
G.  Church,  J.  S.  Campbell,  T.  W.  Eaton,  Robert  R.  Farris,  J.  C.  Moore,  C.  C. 
Crandell.  Charles  Litsy,  D.  Ritchie,  W.  P.  Moore,  D.  H.  Rodgers,  B.  H.  Mor- 
row, AV.  B.  ]\Iiller,  W.  W.  Coburn,  W.  T.  Riggs,  James  Feeley,  A.  J.  Long, 
J.  ]\IcBride,  J.  Wagner,  E.  B.  Beighle,  C.  Fable. 


P^VXTON  POST,  NO.   387,  G.  A.  R. 

Organized  January  12,  1884.  Membership  to  March  6,  1884:  Officers, 
Colonel  Charles  Bogardus,  Commander ;  M.  II.  Cloud,  S.  V.  C. ;  W.  C.  Hutchi- 
son, J.  V.  C;  T.  M.  King,  Q.  U.;  C.  M.  Taylor,  Chaplain;  B.  F.  Mason,  0. 
D.;  John  Swanson,  0.  G. ;  J.  W.  Ramsay,  Adjutant;  W.  M.  Wilson,  S.  M. ; 
William  Cramer,  Q.  M.  S.  ]\Iembership,  G.  L.  Atkinson,  A.  H.  Bridgeman, 
Charles  Bogardus,  J.  M.  Briney,  G.  W.  Berdine,  M.  H.  Cloud,  William  Cramer, 
M.  Cramer,  M.  V.  Davis,  Stacey  Daniels,  W.  C.  Hutchison,  Frederick  Johnson, 
Theodore  M.  King,  B.  F.  I^Iason,  F.  McFarlaud,  Taylor  Pyle,  John  A.  Peter- 
son, T.  S.  Peacock,  J.  W.  Ramsay,  John  Swanson,  Alfred  Sample,  C.  ]\I.  Tay- 
lor, J.  D.  Wilson,  Thomas  Wier,  W.  :\I.  Wilson,  W.  T.  Westbrook,  Henry 
Weaver. 


.312  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

PIPER  CITY  GUARDS. 

Company  C,  Ninth  Battalion  Illinois  National  Guards,  was  organized 
March  27,  1876.  The  list  of  original  members  has  been  furnished,  and  is  as 
follows,  viz: 

Captain,  H.  C.  Baughman ;  First  Lieutenant,  F.  0.  Walrich ;  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, D.  F.  Walden ;  Orderly  Sergeant,  J.  P.  IMadden ;  Sergeants,  John  Nein- 
mier,  J.  D.  Parsons,  E.  F.Pulver,  J.  T.  Wilson;  J.  R.  Rezner,  Color  Sergeant 
Ninth  Battalion;  Corporals,  J.  W.  Ramsay,  J.  R.  Bagly,  S.  Kiblinger,  Frank 
Kiblinger;  Musician,  II.  S.  Randall;  privates,  Henry  Allnut,  Watson  Bishop, 
John  Hobbis,  E.  A.  Kice,  G.  I\I.  Bagley,  N.  G.  Plank,  J.  S.  Telfer,  J.  B.  Tel- 
fer  W.  ]\I.  Thompson,  Joseph  C.  Kirk,  M.  Johnson,  William  Hartley,  James  Lis- 
ton,  Alex  Listun,  J.  Netterville,  John  C.  Zea. 

The  company  was  reorganized  September  4,  1877,  in  accordance  with  the 
new  military  code,  and  under  the  consolidation  of  the  different  regiments  and 
battalions  May  4,  1882,  was  assigned  to  the  Fourth  Regiment,  and  was  known  as 
Company  H. 

The  present  commissioned  officers  are  Frank  0.  Walrich,  captain ;  John 
Rorbach,  first  Lieutenant ;  J.  R.  Rezner,  second  lieutenant. 

REMINISCENCES  BY  R.  R.  MURDOCK. 

My  first  visit  to  the  western — now  the  middle  western  states  was  in  the 
autumn  of  1852.  I  came  by  canal  packet  boat  to  Buft'alo,  by  rail  to  Cleveland, 
by  steamer  to  Toledo  (the  railroad  between  the  latter  places  was  not  in  opera- 
tion) and  by  Michigan  Southern  railroad  to  Chicago,  stopping  en  route  to  visit 
friends  in  southern  Michigan.  From  Chicago,  a  side  trip  was  made  to  JMilwau- 
kee  by  steamer  returning  by  rail  and  stage  (an  open  sleigh)  via  Madison,  Wis- 
consin and  Rockford,  Illinois.  This  was  not  a  ''Homeseeker's"  trip,  for  at  that 
time  I  had  no  thought  of  making  a  home  in  the  west,  but  the  microbe  got  in  its 
work  and  in  due  time,  developed  into  a  case  of  genuine  western  fever. 

In  the  spring  of  185;]  ]\Ir.  E.  R.  Fay  and  myself  came  west  together  and 
without  nuu'h  delay  he  (U'eich'd  to  locate  in  Ottawa,  Illinois.  lie  opened  an 
office  there  and  in  due  time  became  a  leading  l)anker  of  the  i)la,ce.  This  time  I 
did  not  stay  west  long  but  came  again  the  foUowing  s])ring  prepared  to  make 
some  investments.  Three  or  four  of  us  joined  together  and  employed  a  surveyor 
(Major  Ilitt)  and  he  and  I  made  many  selections  from  government  lands  in 
Livingston  county,  and  went  together  to  the  land  ottice  in  Danville  to  purchase 
the  same,  but  for  some  reason  they  could  not,  or  woidd  not  sell  at  that  time  but 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  313 

placed  our  aijplication  on  tile;  but  nothing  eanie  of  it.  It  was  claimed  that 
other  filings  were  ahead  of  ours.  Returning  from  Danville  via  the  Danville 
and  Ottawa  travel  road,  we  evidently  passed  over  the  present  site  of  Paxton,  l^iit 
there  was  nothing  in  sight,  not  even  a  railroad  stake,  as  I  believe,  to  fix  the  loca- 
tion in  my  memory,  but  I  claim  this  was  my  first  visit  to  Paxton.  About  4  P. 
M.  our  road  led  us  near  to  D.  C.  Stoners'  house,  which  he  had  built  and  moved 
his  family  iuto  a,  short  time  before.  Learning  that  there  was  no  house  of  any 
kind  on  this  line  of  road  nearer  than  Oliver's  Grove,  twenty  miles  or  more  away, 
we  decided  to  remain  with  the  Stoners  over  night.  This  was  my  first  night  in 
Ford  county. 

]\Iy  second  trip  through  Ford  county  was  in  1854.  A  business  trip  for  H. 
F.  Fames,  then  a  banker  at  Ottawa  and  later  president  of  Commercial  National 
Bank  of  Chicago,  took  me  to  Decatur  via  the  Illinois  Central  main  line,  thence 
to  Danville  by  stage  coach.  Rain  and  mud  interfered  with  further  progress. 
Finally,  learning  that  the  Illinois  Central  (Chicago  branch)  was  laid  as  far 
south  as  Pera  (now  Ludlow)  and  that  a  mixed  train  left  that  point  for  Chicago 
at  about  two  P.  M.  each  day,  another  party  and  I  engaged  a  livery  man  to  take 
us  to  that  place,  agreeing  to  pay  him  ten  dollars  if  he  got  us  there  before  the  train 
left,  otherwise  eight  dollars  The  last  mile  or  two  was  made  with  the  team  on 
the  full  run  nnd  the  locomotive  calling  us  at  every  jump.  We  got  into  Chicago 
at  about  1  A.  M.  next  morning.  We  were  the  only  passengers  and  we  left  the 
train  at  Hyde  Park,  then  cpiite  outside  the  city  limits. 

This  second  passage  over  the  present  site  of  Paxton,  like  the  first,  left  no 
special  impression  on  my  mind.  It  was  only  a  part  of  the  great  grand  prairie. 
The  spring  of  1855  found  Leander  Britt,  a  personal  friend  from  my  native  town, 
and  myself  in  Chicago,  and  fully  decided  to  make  the  west  our  future  home. 
Great  bargains  in  the  way  of  city  lots  were  offered  us  and  glowing  pictures  of 
prospective  profits  on  such  investments  were  spread  before  us  by  wide-awake  real- 
estate  dealers,  but  it  was  broad  acres  of  rolling  prairie  that  we  sought,  not  the 
limited  area  of  mud  and  water  called  a  city  lot. 

The  Illinois  Central  Railroad  lands  had  just  been  put  on  the  market  and  a 
few  interviews  with  the  officials  and  their  promise  of  special  inducements  to 
early  buyers,  soon  decided  us  to  investigate  along  their  lines,  and  with  a  horse 
and  buggy  sliii)ped  from  New  York  and  with  railroad  passes  in  our  pockets 
to  use  if  needed,  we  set  out  by  ourselves  on  a  prospecting  tour  southward.  It 
was  lovely  spring  weather,  and  fairly  good  roads,  and,  but  for  ])oor  board  and 
poorer  lodgings,  it  woidd  liave  been  in  every  way  enjoyable.  However,  at 
Loda  we  fovuul  things  iti  this  line  (piite  satisfactory.       Mr.  Russell,  the  station 


314  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

agent,  and  his  wife  were  late  arrivals,  and  had  plenty  of  good  things  to  eat 
and  knew  how  to  use  them.  There  was  no  other  family  or  person  there  and 
they  seemed  glad  to  see  us  and  have  us  stay  awhile,  so  we  toolc  the  opportunity 
to  rest  our  horse  and  fill  ourselves  up.  We  were  favorably  impressed  with 
the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Loda  and  southward,  and  after  going  as  far  south 
as  Champaign,  then  the  terminus  of  the  railroad,  returned  to  Loda  and  made 
a  sort  of  headquarters  there. 

Aljcmt  this  time  we  visited  Middleport,  now  Watseka,  and  in  an  interview 
with  a  former  resident  of  our  native  county  in  New  York  and  who  was  then 
a  judge  of  Iroquois  county,  he  stated  that  in  liis  opinion  a  new  county  could 
be  made  from  that  part  of  Vermilion  county  which  is  now  Ford  county,  and 
explained  why  it  could  be  made  in  no  other  way.  Also,  that  if  properly 
managed  the  county  seat  could  be  made  at  some  point  located  on  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  where  it  crossed  said  proposed  new  county.  Previous  to  this 
time,  we  had  selected  with  the  view  of  purchase  three  and  one-half  sections 
eastward  from  the  present  town  of  Paxton,  and  with  this  new  thought  in  mind, 
we  added  to  our  list  the  eighty  acres  covering  the  central  portion  of  this  city 
as  it  stands  today.  IMaterial  concessions  in  price  were  made  to  us  on  the  three 
and  one-half  sections,  and  on  the  performance  of  certain  conditions,  a  side  track 
was  promised  us  on  the  eighty  acre  tract.  No  mention  was  made  at  that  time 
to  any  one  of  our  possible  plan  for  the  new  county  and  county  seat. 

In  spite  of  the  financial  calamities  of  1857  and  consequent  depression  of  all 
land  values,  the  three  and  one-half  sections  were  finally  disposed  of  and  hand- 
some profits  realized.  The  promise  of  the  side  track  was  secured  by  the  land 
department  from  Superintendent  Doane  and  conditioned  that  George  B.  Me- 
Clellan,  the  chief  engineer,  approve.  This  he  promptly  did  and  in  tliis  way 
became  cognizant  to  the  agreement,  which  proved  of  vast  importance  to  us  :ns 
will  be  explained  later  on  in  this  paper. 

Our  purchase  of  the  eighty  acres  and  our  scheme  for  a  new  county  aiid 
county  seat  were  carefully  concealed  at  that  time.  Plans  for  a  new  county  witli 
Loda  for  county  seat  were  already  talked  of  and  symptons  of  a  l)ooni  for  Loda 
were  manifest.  Our  final  contracts  for  the  land  were  made  in  June,  1855.  I 
then  went  home  to  assist  in  the  harvest  on  the  old  farm,  but  returned  to  Illinois 
in  November  and  stayed  till  January,  1856.  I  again  made  Mr.  RusseU's  head- 
quarters and  Mr.  Addison  Goodcll  and  I  occupied  the  ladies'  room  in  passenger 
house  and  slept  (when  not  kept  awake  by  wolves)  t)n  a  folding  cot  or  sofa,  which 
I  had  purchased  in  Chicago.  Soon  after  New  Years  I  went  home  to  New  York 
and  came  back  early  in  April  and  date  my  residence  in  Illinois  from  that  time. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  315 

During'  this  winter,  1855-6  I  purchased  in  my  owu  name  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  covering  ''the  Hill"  and  the  more  level  land  north  thereof  to  the  east  roail, 
also,  in  connection  with  A.  D.  Southworth,  a  full  section  (six  hundred  and  forty 
acres)  near  the  present  town  of  Rankin  for  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre, 
and  later  sold  my  half  for  fourteen  dollars  per  acre. 

A  few  days  before  my  final  departure  from  New  York,  at  his  rec^uest,  I  made 
known  to  W.  H.  Pells  our  plans  and  prospects  for  a  new  county.  He  then 
proposed  to  join  us  in  the  enterprise  provided  certain  other  lands  adjoining 
could  be  purchased,  and  of  course  provided  that,  upon  examination,  he  found 
things  as  I  stated  them  to  be.  It  was  understood  that  we  should  secure  options 
on  these  certain  lands,  and,  wlien  this  was  done  he  would  come  out  and  investi- 
gate. This  he  did  early  in  June,  1856  and  was  well  pleased.  The  land  was 
purchased  and  the  firm  of  Pells,  Britt  &  Murdock  created. 

The  new  firm  controlled  three  hundred  and  forty  acres — all  that  was  most 
desirable  for  town  site  purposes.  After  ]\Ir.  Britt 's  death,  Mr.  Pells  arranged 
for  the  Britt  undivided  one-third  interest.  Having  secured  all  the  land  we 
cared  to  purchase  ourselves,  w^e  then  proposed  to  certain  persons  to  purchase  land 
adjoining  our  own  and  thus  become  interested  in  the  scheme.  ]\Ir.  James  Mix 
Avas  one  of  these  persons  and  he  promptly  acted  on  our  suggestion.  The 
purchase  proved  profitable  to  him  and  he  very  useful  to  the  enterprise.  Until 
this  time — midsunmier  1856 — our  plan,  even  the  fact  of  our  owning  any  lands 
at  this  point,  was  carefully  concealed.  Paxton  then  consisted  of  three  small 
houses,  located  near  the  south  railroad  crossing  of  the  present  town.  There 
were  no  other  improvements  in  sight,  not  even  a  stake  to  indicate  that  a  town 
had  ever  been  thought  of.  Meantime,  Loda  was  booming  in  anticipation  of  its 
becoming  the  county  seat  of  a  new  county. 

In  September  the  survey  of  the  toAvn  plat  was  conunenced  and  the  erection 
of  a  six  room  house  was  rushed  as  fast  as  men  and  the  delivery  of  material  would 
permit,  and,  before  it  was  fairly  finished,  INIrs.  James  B.  Taft,  a  widowed  sister 
of  Mr.  Britt,  arrived  from  the  east,  prepared  to  take  charge  of  it.  This  duty 
was  ably  and  faithfully  performed  by  her,  and,  although  not  so  intended,  neces- 
sity made  it  a  sort  of  hotel  for  a  while  and  the  little  liouse  was  often  filled  to 
overflowing.  Mr.  Britt  lived  and  died  in  this  house  and  after  his  death  IMrs. 
Taft  and  her  son  0.  B.  Taft,  now  of  Chicago,  resided  there  for  many  years. 

During  the  summer  of  1856  improvements  were  made  by  Britt  and  Murdock 
on  one  of  the  half  sections  of  railroad  land,  as  was  agreed  on  their  purchase. 
These  improvements  and  certain  other  conditions  having  been  fulfilled,  we  asked 
for  the  side  track  that  had  been  promised  by  Superintendent  Doane  and  endorsed 


316  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

by  George  B.  McClellaii  l)iit  Superintendent  Doaiie  was  dead,  and  the  president 
then  acting  as  superintendent  would  not  recognize  the  agreement  made  ^\•ith  us. 
McClellan  then  took  the  matter  uj)  for  us  and  we  learned  that  he  and  the 
president  had  some  hot  words  over  it,  but  the  president  would  not  yield.  ;i\[r. 
McClellan  said  "Wait,"  with  a  manner  impl\ing  that  we  should  finally  get  the 
side  track.  Later  w^e  got  word  from  him  to  come  to  Chicago  and  I  went 
promptly.  At  the  office  he  stated  that  the  president  had  gone  to  Europe  and  that 
he  himself  was  acting  superintendent  and  requested  me  to  meet  him  at  his  board- 
ing house  in  the  evening.  At  this  meeting  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  have  a 
regular  station  with  a  side  track  and  some  sort  of  station  building,  which  pnn'ed 
to  be  an  old  shop,  wrecked,  moved  and  set  up  again,  made  fairly  comfortable  l)ut 
far  from  ornamental.  We  w^ere  to  grade  for  the  side  track  and  I  was  to  act  as 
station  agent,  the  consideration  therefor  to  be  a  commission  on  gross  receipts. 
My  first  month's  pay  was  eight  dollars  and  thirty-six  cents.  I  held  the  position 
for  several  years  and  until  the  per  cent  amounted  to  much  more  than  the  company 
was  willing  to  allow  as  salary  for  the  services  rendered.  I  then  resigned.  The 
station  was  opened  for  business  on  or  about  December  1,  1856. 

About  the  time  the  station  matter  was  settled,  and  before  tlie  side  track  was 
completed,  Blaine  &  Hanly  shipped  in  a  full  train  of  lumber — twenty  cars  or 
more.  It  had  to  be  unloaded  wdiile  standing  on  the  nuiin  line.  Everybody 
from  far  and  near  lent  a  hand  and  the  work  was  done  in  double-quick  time. 

A  postoffice  was  easily  obtained  by  removing  the  old  Ten  INIile  Grove  office, 
but  a  new  name  for  it  and  the  station  was  demanded.  This  proved  less  easy  to 
settle  than  w^as  expected.  The  appropriate  and  desirable  names  seemed  to  be 
already  in  use  elsewhere.  Our  neighbors  took  occasion  to  suggest  some  names 
for  us,  but  we  accepted  none  of  them.  Prospect  City  was  finally  adopted,  the 
promoter,  whoever  he  was  explaining  that  the  "Prospect"  was  in  consideration 
of  its  sightly  situation,  its  prospective  views  in  all  directions,  etc.  Everything 
was  "City"  in  those  days — it  was  the  fashion —  so  "City"  was  affixed.  Almost 
the  first  new  arrival  after  the  name  was  proclaimed  looked  arouiul  carefully  and 
declared  it  was  all  prospect  and  no  city.  He  took  the  next  train  and  never  came  ^ 
back.  We  soon  tired  of  the  name  and  changed  it  to  Paxton  in  honor  of  Lord 
Paxton  of  Scotland,  then  a  large  Illinois  Centi'al  stock'  holder.  We  expected  a 
visit  and  perhaps  a  present  from  him  but  he  never  came.  However  we  got  a 
good  name  for  our  town.  The  new  postoffice  w^as  created,  I  think,  November, 
1856,  and  Mr.  Leander  Britt  was  made  postmaster  and  filled  that  position  for 
several  years — as  long  as  his  failing  health  permitted. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  317 

Promptly  on  tlie  coiiveiiiiiij:  of  the  1857  session  of  the  Illinois  state  legislature, 
delegates  from  Loda  appeared  with  their  plan  for  a  new  county,  of  course  so 
shaped  that  Ijoda  must  become  the  county  seat  thereof. 

We  were  at  that  time  nowise  prepared  for  a  new  coiinty  fight,  and  if  a  county 
seat  had  been  tendered  us  then  we  could  not  have  accepted  or  cared  for  it. 

Our  hope  lay  in  postponing  the  issue  for  two  years.  The  law  provided, 
(and  still  provides)  that  the  legislature  may  authorize  a  vote  on  the  question  of 
new  counties,  and  when  made  up  from  two  or  more  counties,  must  have  a  major- 
ity vote-  of  each  and  every  county  interested.  We  had  good  reason  to  believe 
that  Iro(iuois  county  would  not,  at  that  time  consent  to  separate  any  portion  of 
its  territory  for  any  purpose  whatever,  but  we  felt  obliged  to  make  some  sort  of 
fight  in  the  matter  and  to  have  a  delegation  in  Springfield  to  care  for  our 
interests  there.  It  was  arranged  that  INIr.  Britt  and  Mr.  IMix  should  do  this 
Avork  and  the  duty  w^as  well  performed. 

Such  questions  are  practically  settled  in  the  committee  room ;  the  legislature 
simply  sanctions  by  formal  vote  what  the  committee  recommends.  In  the 
committee  room  much  haggling  and  loud  talk  were  indulged  in.  Many  different 
plans  were  proposed.  Several  such  sessions  were  held.  Finally  a  new  county 
bill  was  submitted,  promptly  passed  and  signed  by  the  governor. 

The  Loda  delegates  had  asked  for  six  miles  off  the  west  side  of  Iroquois 
county  and  that  part  of  Vermilion  county  now  Ford  county  but  perhaps  due  to 
a  confusion  in  the  committee  room,  a  mistake  was  made  and  the  bill  as  passed 
called  for  twelve  miles  off  Iroquois  county  and  six  miles  square  out  of  the  north- 
west corner  of  what  is  now  Vermilion  county.  Both  counties  voted  against  the 
new  county  as  proposed.  The  Loda  delegation  never  (|uite  understood  how  this 
mistake  occurred. 

The  years  1857  and  1858  were  lively  seasons  for  ])oth  towns.  Both  clniuK^d 
to  be  dead  sure  of  becoming  the  county  seat,  and  both  gained  rapidly  in  popu- 
lation and  trade,  and  as  the  period  for  the  legislative  session  of  1859,  both 
prepared  for  the  fight  of  their  lives.  W.  IT.  Pells.  James  Mix  and  Leander 
Britt  were  our  regular  delegation  and  spent  most  of  the  winter  in  Springfield. 
I  and  others  were  there  for  brief  periods. 

Loda's  plan  for  the  new  county  necessarily  involved  a  portion  of  Iroquois 
county.  Our  plan  was  Ford  county  as  it  now  exists.  There  was  no  other  town 
in  it  and  our  chance  to  become  the  county  seat  was  thus  assured.  It  was  plain 
that  Vermilion  county  would  vote  off  that  much  and  no  more  for  a  new  county. 
The  issue  was  with  Iroquois  county.  Would  the  voters  favor  cutting  off  any 
part  for  the  new  county?      Those  favoring  the  Loda  scheme  declared  they  would. 


WILLIAM  H.  PELLS 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


WILLIAM  H.  PELLS. 

William  H.  Pells,  who  was  so  v/ell  known  to  the  early  settlers  of  this 
community  for  his  enterprise,  integrity  and  sterling  worth,  may  well  be  called 
not  only  one  of  the  fathers  of  Paxton,  but  also  of  Ford  county.  He  was  a 
native  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  born  June  12,  1813.  His  educational 
advantages  were  limited  to  a  few  years'  attendance  at  the  schools  of  his  native 
city,  but  by  reading  and  contact  with  the  business  world  he  became  a  well 
informed  man  and  a  shrewd  financier.  When  only  thirteen  years  of  age  he 
was  compelled  by  force  of  circumstances  to  begin  life's  struggle  on  his  OAvn 
account.  His  father,  who  Avas  financially  well-to-do,  by  endorsing  for  others 
became  involved  in  financial  ruin. 

The  independence  and  self-reliance  of  young  William  asserted  themselves 
in  a  marked  degree.  Going  to  New  York  city,  he  spent  six  months  driving  a 
milk  wagon,  after  which  he  secured  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store, 
continuing  until  1830.  That  year  witnessed  his  emigration  to  Palmyra,.  New 
York,  where  he  arrived  penniless.  Though  not  an  experienced  woodman,  he 
replenished  his  exchequer  by  chopping  wood  and  clearing  land.  Though  a  mere 
boy,  he  was  possessed  of  indomitable  energy  and  if  he  could  not  get  employ- 
ment to  which  he  was  accustomed,  he  accustomed  himself  to  such  employment 
as  .he  could  get.  The  same  business  he  followed  at  Ridgeway.  There  on  the 
19th  of  November,  1831,  he  entered  the  store  of  H.  Francis  as  clerk.  His 
carefully  husbanded  earnings  were  judiciously  invested  in  good  lands  in  that 
vicinity,  Avhich  Avere  then  selling  from  $3.00  to  $5.00  per  acre,  and  thus  was  laid 
a  safe  foundation,  for  financial  growth.  Domestic  by  nature,  Mr.  Pells  early 
in  life  sought  to  surround  himself  with  the  hallowed  influence  of  wife  and 
home.  The  lady  of  his  choice  was  Miss  Maria  B.  Whitaker,  a  native  of 
Norfolk,  England,  to  whom  he  Avas  married  in  1836. 

After  clerking  ten  years  Mr.  Pells  became  a  full  partner  in  the  store  Avith 
his  employer  and  in  18-16  became  sole  proprietor,  continuing  until  1851  Avith 
marked  success.  Admitting  his  brother  to  partnership,  the  business  Avas  carried 
on  by  the  tAvo  until  1856,  Avhen  Mr.  Pells  disposed  of  his  entire  interest.  The 
same  year  he  purchased  from  the  Medina  &  Alabama  Plank  Road  Company 
that  part  of  the  road  extending  from  Medina  to  RidgeAA^ay.  In  the  hands  of 
the  Company  it  had  been  a  losing  investment,  but  Mr.  Pells  Avith  characteristic 
thoroughness,  rebuilt  it  Avith  elegant  gravel,  making  it  one  of  the  best  roads  in 
the  state,  paying  a  liberal  yearly  dividend  on  the  large  amount  of  money 
expended  in  its  construction.  He  continued  to  operate  the  road  until  the 
charter  expired  in  1881. 

In  1856,  Mr.  Pells  came  to  Avhat  is  noAV  Ford  County,  Illinois,  though  then 
it  Avas  part  of  Vermilion  County.  He,  R.  R.  Murdock  and  Leander  Britt 
purchased  the  site  and  laid  out  Prospect  City,  as  Paxton  was  then  called.    With 


322  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

commendable  pride  he  watelied  the  growth  of  the  infant  town  and  to  the  last 
heartily  assisted  in  everything  that  wonld  advance  its  growth.  In  1859  he 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  organization  of  Ford  connty  and  in  making 
Paxton  the  seat  of  justice.  Schools,  churches  and  charities  of  all  kinds  found 
in  him  a  liberal  supporter.  Every  interest  promising  to  l)c  l)eneficial  to  the 
town  or  county  claimed  his  attention. 

In  1866  he  began  the  erection  of  Pells'  Block,  completing  it  in  1867,  a 
three-story  brick  block  with  50  feet  frontage  on  IMarket  street,  where  the 
Lee  &  Grayson  and  Samuelson  brick  business  buildings  now  stand. 

The  two  first  floor  rooms  were  occupied  by  the  J.  S.  Loose  dry-goods  store 
and  the  bank  of  Toy  &  Thompson,  until  they  built  the  bank  building  noAv  owned 
l)y  Paxton  bank.  The  second  floor  was  occupied  by  offices  and  for  years  the 
Paxton  Record  had  its  home  on  the  third  floor.  This  was  the  first  iron  front 
liuilding  erected  in  Ford  county.  This  block  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  October, 
1874,  that  began  in  the  next  building  south  of  this,  and  burned  eleven  business 
houses  before  it  could  be  checked. 

He  was  one  of  the  promoters  and  organizers  of  the  Lafayette,  Bloomington 
&  ]\Iississippi  Railroad  Company  and  for  several  years  was  its  vice  president. 
But  for  his  earnest  efforts  and  those  of  a  few  others  along  the  line  of  the  road, 
it  probably  never  would  have  been  built.  It  has  since  become  a  part  of  the 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  system. 

In  1876  he  visited  Petoskey,  Michigan,  and  being  favorably  impressed  with 
the  climate  and  soil,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  containing  twelve 
thousand  acres  in  Emmet  county,  which  was  then  almost  an  unbroken  forest, 
inhabited  by  one  hundred  whites  and  eleven  hundred  Indians.  In  1882  the 
Grand  Rapids  &  Indiana  Railroad  ran  through  Mr.  Pells'  tract  of  land,  near 
the  center  of  which  sprang  up  a  town,  named  by  tln^  railroad  company  in  honor 
of  him,  Pellston. 

In  political  sentiment  Mr.  Pells  was  an  old-line  democrat,  a  great  admirer 
of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  like  Douglas,  a  war  democrat,  contributing  always 
most  liberally  for  the  good  of  the  soldiers  and  their  families.  Though  not  an 
aspirant  for  places  of  public  trust,  lie  held  a  number  of  official  positions.  In 
religious  belief  he  was  a  Universalist. 

Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Pells  had  a  family  of  three  children,  though  only  one  now 
living;  Hannah  W.,  wife  of  Colonel  Charles  Bogardus,  of  Paxton.  His  son, 
Edgar  Z.  Pells,  died  at  Rochester,  New  York,  in  1899. 

After  a  brief  married  life  of  only  nine  years,  Mr.  Pells  was  deprived  by 
death  of  his  companion.  Notwithstanding  he  survived  her  over  forty  years, 
she  was  his  only  wetldcd  companion.  On  the  26th  of  -lune,  1886,  j\Ir.  Pells 
joined  his  Avife  and  child  in  the  spirit  world,  while  his  body  was  laid  to  rest 
beside  that  of  his  wife  at  Ridgeway,  New  York.  He  was  a  man  possessed  of 
such  traits  of  character  as  are  worthy  to  l)e  imitated  and  should  never  be 
forgotten;  shrewd  ;iiid  i'ai'-sighted  in  business  affairs,  scrupulously  honest, 
free-hearted,  charitable,  with  a  kind  woi'd  and  tender  thought  for  all.  His 
charities  were  always  unostentatious  and  quietly  given  and  kept  from  the 
public  when  possible. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  323 

COLONEL   CHARLES  BOGARDUS. 

The  world  instinctively  pays  deference  to  the  man  whose  success  has  been 
gained  through  his  own  efforts  and  whose  methods  have  ever  been  such  as 
Avill  bear  close  investigation  and  scrutiny.  Such  has  been  the  record  of 
Colonel  Charles  Bogardus,  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  influential  citizens 
of  Ford  county.  The  progenitor  of  the  different  branches  of  the  Bogardus 
family  in  America  was  Everardus  Bogardus,  a  Dutch  Reform  clergyman,  who 
emigrated  from  Holland  to  New  Amsterdam  (now  New  York  city,)  in  1633, 
and  was  the  second  minister  in  that  city,  residing  on  what  is  now  Broad 
street.  In  1638  he  married  Annetje,  widow  of  Roelof  Jansen,  (her  name  was 
corrupted  later  into  Anneke  Jans,)  who  had  obtained  a  grant  of  sixty-two 
acres  of  land,  (she  being  a  relative  of  King  William  and  Mary,)  in  what 
is  now  the  center  of  New  York  city.  This  farm,  long  known  as  "Dominie's 
Bowery,"  in  time  became  vested  in  Trinity  church  by  unfair  means  and  caused 
continuous  litigation  until  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  is 
the  only  one  of  the  name  that  has  come  to  this  country. 

Colonel  Bogardus  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  above  clergyman  and  is  a 
son  of  James  H.  and  Louisa  M.  Bogardus.  He  was  born  in  Cayuga  county. 
New  York,  March  28,  1841,  and  when  but  little  over  six  years  of  age  was  left 
an  orphan,  both  parents  being  taken  away  by  an  epidemic.  He  was  taken  by 
an  uncle,  W.  H.  Bogardus,  who  gave  him  common-school  advantages  until  he 
was  about  twelve  years  of  age,  at  which  time  young  Charles  entered  a  grocery 
store  as  clerk  at  a  salary  of  a  dollar  and  a  half  per  week.  This  position  he 
held  for  nearly  four  years,  receiving  increase  in  salary  from  time  to  time.  His 
eai'nings  were  paid  every  Saturday  night  to  the  uncle,  who,  without  the  boy's 
knowledge,  invested  the  same  for  him  and  subsequently  offered  to  turn  all 
over  to  him,  notwithstanding  his  uncle  was  a  poor  man.  But  the  boy.  although 
only  eighteen  years  of  age,  declined  the  offer  and  the  money  with  thanks. 

"When  in  his  sixteenth  year  he  went  to  Ridgeway,  New  York,  to  accept  a 
clerkship  in  the  store  of  another  uncle  at  eight  dollars  per  month  and  board. 
He  was  rapidly  advanced  in  position  and  salary,  becoming  head  clerk  before 
he  was  nineteen. 

Early  in  August,  1862,  Colonel  Bogardus,  having  just  attained  his  majority, 
enlisted  for  the  war  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  New  York 
Infantry.  But  before  going  to  the  field  he  was  united  in  marriiage,  on  the 
17th  of  August,  1862,  to  Miss  Hannah  W.,  daughter  of  William  H.  Pells,  both 
of  whom  are  mentioned  on  other  pages  of  this  volume.  On  the  organization  of 
the  company,  August  13,  1862,  Colonel  Bogardus  was  elected  first  Lieutenant; 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain  of  Company  I,  December  12,  1862;  to 
lieutenant  colonel  December  10,  1864;  and  was  breveted  colonel  by  order  of  the 
president  of  the  United  States  "for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the 
charge  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  April  2,  1865."  The  letter  from  the 
governor  of  New  York  accompanying  the  commission  states  the  reason  for 
granting  the  commission  and  reads  as  follows: 

"Colonel,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  transmit  herewith  a  brevet  commission 


} 

f 


324  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

conferred  by  the  president,  in  recognition  of  your  faithful  aiul  distinguished 
services  in  the  war.  I  feel  a  just  pride  in  this  acknowledgment  of  the  gallantry 
and  devotion  of  an  officer  of  this  state,  which  serves  to  heighten  the  reputation 
won  by  the  valor  and  constancy  of  the  soldiers  of  New  York. 

Very  truly  yours, 

R.  E.  FENTON,  Governor." 

Colonel  Bogardus  was  twice  wounded  in  the  battle  of  ]\Ionocacy,  IMaryland, 
July^  1864,  an  engagement  comparatively  insignificant  in  itself  but  important 
in  its  results,  about  three  thousand  Union  troops  by  the  skillful  management 
of  General  Lew  Wallace,  held  in  check  nearly  six  times  their  number  for 
twentj'-four  hours,  thus  giving  General  Grant  barely  time  to  move  the  first  and 
second  divisions  of  the  Sixth  Army  Corps  from  City  Point,  Virginia,  to  Wash- 
ington, arriving  there  just  as  the  Confederate  General  Early  appeared  in  front 
of  the  outer  defenses  of  Washington.  Had  that  heroic  little  band  of  boys  in 
blue  given  way,  the  Capital  City  must  have  fallen  a  prey  to  the  enemy.  In  the 
battle  of  the  Wilderness  the  Sixth  Corps  to  which  Colonel  Bogardus  belonged, 
was  on  the  extreme  right  and  all  remember  what  a  desperate  effort  Lee  made 
to  crush  that  part  of  Grant's  army;  next  followed  in  rapid  succession  the 
battles  of  Spottsylvania,  Tolopotomy  and  Cold  Harbor,  (in  the  latter  battle 
his  regiment  lost  five  captains  and  the  young,  then  Captain  Bogardus.  came 
out  of  this  battle  acting  as  lieutenant  colonel,  all  officers  above  him  in  rank  but 
one  having  been  shot,)  ]\Iine  Run,  Petersburg,  Sailors  Creek,  Appomatox,  or 
Lee's  surrender,  and  the  other  battles  and  skirmishes  in  which  he  was  engaged 
will  ever  be  remembered,  as  experiences  in  our  subject's  army  life. 

When  getting  ready  for  the  battle  of  Petersburg,  the  Colonel's  orderly, 
Johnny  Byron,  packed  one  pocket  of  the  colonel's  overcoat,  tightly  with  hard 
tack,  when  putting  it  on.  discovering  it.  told  the  orderly  to  take  them  out. 
Byron  begged  him  to  leave  them  in  saying  it  might  be  a  long  time  before  he 
could  get  anything  else  to  eat.  He  was  very  fond  of  Byron  and  to  please  him 
let  them  remain.  Later  a  confederate  sharp-shooter's  bullet  was  deflected  b.y 
the  hard-tack  just  enough  to  save  his  hip  and  perhaps  his  life,  making  a  very 
severe  bruise  and  lameness,  but  the  hip  was  saved. 

At  the  battle  of  Monocacy,  July  9,  1864,  Colonel  Bogardus  was  so  severely 
wounded  that  he  could  not  endure  to  be  transferred  by  and)ulance,  hence  was 
carried  three  miles  on  a  stretcher  to.  the  hospital  at  Frederick  City,  IMaryland. 
Had  his  injuries  been  less  he  Avould  have  been  sent  to  Richmond  or  to  Libby 
prison.  Frederick  City  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Tniou  troops  again, 
and  he  was  transferred,  about  three  months  after,  when  able  to  travel,  to  the 
officers'  hospital  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  where  he  regained  his  strength 
sufficiently  to  come  home  on  crutches  and  cast  his  fii'st  presidential  vote  for 
Lincoln.  As  soon  as  he  could  get  about  by  the  use  of  a  cane  he  returned  to  his 
command  and  served  until  he  was  mustered  out  on  the  26th  of  June,  1865.  A 
striking  illustration  of  the  wonderful  transforming  poAver  of  ideas  on  the  lives 
and  actions  of  men  is  given  in  the  case  of  Colonel  Bogardus  and  his  maternal 
grandfather.    The  latter  owned  and  worked  slaves  in  New  York  state  before 


CHARLES  BOGARDUS 


MRS.  CHARLES  BOGARDUS 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  329 

the}'  were  mauuinitted — the  former  risked  his  own  life  for  their  freedom,  aud 
today  the  negro  accounts  the  Colonel  one  of  his  warmest  friends.  In  1885  he 
was  appointed  colonel  and  aide-de-camp  by  Governor  Oglesby,  and  was  re- 
appointed in  1889  by  Governor  Fifer,  holding  the  two  positions  eight  years. 

When  hostilities  had  ceased  Colonel  Bogardus  returned  to  Ridgeway,  New 
York,  where  he  became  a  partner  of  his  old  emploj^er,  A.  V.  Pells,  (to  whom 
he  feels  he  owes  much  of  his  success,)  in  the  mercantile  business,  continuing 
until  failing  health,  the  effect  of  his  wound,  compelled  him  to  quit  mercantile 
pursuits.  In  April,  1872,  he  became  a  resident  of  Paxton  and  has  since  been 
prominently  identified  with  its  best  interests,  as  well  as  those  of  the  surround- 
ing country.  The  varied  and  extensive  business  interests  he  successfully 
conducts  prove  him  to  be  a  man  of  broad  comprehension  and  of  fine  executive 
ability.  Besides  doing  a  large  real-estate  and  loan  business  he  is  extensively 
interested  in  stock-raising  and  farming,  owning  several  thousand  acres  of 
valuable  farming  land  in  Illinois.  He  was  president  of  the  Ninth  Congressional 
District  Farmers'  Institute  from  its  organization.  It  grew  to  be  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  state.  Democratic  reapportionment  destroyed  it  geographically, 
thus  ending  it  after  years  of  success.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Paxton  Brick  &  Tile  Company,  of  which  he  was  a  director  and  part  owner  for 
twenty-one  years,  and  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Paxton  Canning 
Company,  another  substantial  concern.  He  sold  his  interest  in  both  these 
companies  some  years  ago.  He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  and  the  first 
president  of  the  Paxton  Building,  Loan  and  Savings  Association  and  has  been 
reelected  twenty-five  times,  now  serving  his  twenty-sixth  year. 

Upon  the  death  of  ]\Irs.  Bogardus'  father,  she  and  her  brother  inherited 
among  other  properties  a  large  tract  of  timber  land  in  northern  Michigan,  later 
on  the  death  of  her  brother,  November,  1899,  his  interests  became  hers  also. 
In  the  spring  of  1900,  at  her  request,  he  went  to  ^lichigan  to  look  over  the 
properties  for  her,  getting  up  from  a  sick  bed  to  do  so ;  he  spent  the  summer 
getting  well  and  studying  the  properties  and  in  the  fall  founded  the  first  mill 
for  the  manufacture  of  shingles,  next  a  sawmill,  later  a  planing-mill,  another 
sawmill,  lath-mills  were  added,  in  the  meantime  he  had  located  Tindle  & 
Jackson,  the  largest  manufacturers  of  slack  cooperage,  broom  handles  and 
hoops  in  the  world.  An  extensive  turning  works  was  recently  started,  which 
Avith  other  matters  has  made  Pellston  jump  from  one  child  in  the  public  school 
when  he  and  his  wife  arrived  there,  and  a  population  of  three  or  four  families, 
until  today  Pellston  has  a  school  census  of  three  hundred  aud  eighty-seven, 
and  a  total  population  of  between  eighteen  hundred  and  nineteen  hundred. 
Has  a  village  organization,  fire  department,  system  of  water  works,  shade  trees 
on  each  side  of  every  street,  fine  park,  and  is  already  quite  a  pretentious  young 
city,  still  rapidly  growing,  and  has  changed  under  his  short  administration 
from  the  smallest  hamlet  and  postofifice  to  the  second  largest  in  the  county. 

He  is  president  of  the  Bogardus  Land  &  Lumber  Company,  is  interested 
in  the  Pellston  Light  &  Power  Company,  in  the  Pellston  Planing  ]Mills  and  the 
Pellston  Turning  &  Manufacturing  Company.    In  all  of  his  business  interests 


330  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

he  has  been  assisted  b}-  his  estimable  wife,  a  lady  of  good  business  ability  and 
keen  discrimination.  Colonel  Bogardus  and  his  wife  have  donated  fourteen 
hundred  and  forty-one  acres  to  the  University  of  ]\Iichigan  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  summer  school  for  the  engineering  department  of  that  university. 
The  land  is  valuable  and  the  gift  is  one  of  the  most  generous  ever  made  in  that 
state.  The  regents  have  named  it  the  "Bogardus  Engineering  Camp  of  the 
University  of  Michigan,"  in  honor  of  the  donors. 

In  political  affairs  Colonel  Bogardus  has  been  a  prominent  and  influencing 
factor.  He  has  served  two  terms,  1884  to  1888,  in  the  lower  house  of  the  state 
legislature,  and  at  the  close  of  his  second  term  as  representative,  he  was  elected, 
in  1888,  senator,  was  reelected  to  the  senate  in  1892  and  again  reelected  in 
1896,  from  the  eighteenth  senatorial  district,  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
legislature  for  sixteen  consecutive  years.  In  the  fifteen  county  and  senatorial 
conventions  before  which  he  was  a  candidate  for  nomination  for  House  and 
Senate,  he  received  a  unanimous  vote  in  each  case.  One  of  his  important  bills, 
and  the  first  to  l)ecome  a  law  on  the  subject  in  Illinois,  is  that  compelling 
instruction  in  the  public  schools,  in  physiology  and  hygiene,  with  reference  to 
the  effects  of  alcoholic  beverages,  stimulants  and  narcotics  on  the  human 
system.  Another  bill  worthy  of  mention  is  that  regulating  the  weight  of  flour, 
compelling  full  weights  under  severe  penalties.  The  indigent  soldiers'  bill,  the 
bill  establishing  a  State  Board  of  Pardons,  and  the  bill  to  promote  the  educa- 
tion of  children  to  prevent  truancy,  are  among  the  valuable  laws  that  bear  his 
name.  In  the  thirty-fourth  general  assembly  he  was  one  of  the  republican 
members  who  in  that  memorable  senatorial  contest,  Avhich  lasted  four  months, 
succeeded  in  electing  General  John  A.  Logan  to  the  senate  of  the  United 
States.  Subsequently  the  one  hundred  and  three  republicans  who  stood  so 
firmly  by  the  general,  organized  themselves  into  a  society  called  the  "Logan 
103,"  of  which  Colonel  Bogardus  was  secretary  and  treasurer  from  its  organi- 
zation until  he  declined  to  serve  longer.  In  the  thirty-fifth  general  assembly 
he  was  unanimously  chosen  chairman  of  the  republican  house  caucus  for  the 
session.  At  each  session  he  was  appointed  on  some  of  the  most  important 
committees  and  held  several  important  chairmanships.  In  1895  he  was  chosen 
president  pro  teni  ])y  acclamation  in  the  republican  caucus — the  highest  place 
in  the  gift  of  the  senate.  In  1895,  in  the  a])sence  of  the  governor  and  lieutenant 
governor,  he  was  constitutional  governor  of  Illinois  for  some  time.  Strong 
and  positive  in  his  republicanism,  his  party  fealty  is  not  grounded  on  partisan 
prejudice,  and  he  enjoys  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  his  associates, 
irrespective  of  party.  Of  the  great  issues  which  divide  the  two  parties,  with 
their  roots  extending  down  to  the  very  bed-rock  of  the  foundation  of  the 
republic,  he  has  the  true  statesman's  grasp.  Well  grounded  in  the  political 
maxims  of  the  schools,  he  also  studied  the  lessons  of  actual  life,  arriving  at 
his  conclusions  as  a  icsult  of  what  may  be  called  his  post-graduate  studies  in 
the  school  of  affairs.  Such  men,  whether  in  office  or  out,  are  the  natural 
leaders  of  whichever  party  they  may  be  identified  with,  especially  in  that 
movement  toward  higher  politics  which  is  common  to  l)()th  parties  and  which 
constitutes  the  most  hopeful  political  sign  of  the  period. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  331 

Colonel  Bogardns  has  but  one  living  child,  Maria  L.,  wife  of  Oscar  R. 
Zipf,  an  attorney  of  Freeport,  Illinois.  He  has  four  grandsons :  Oscar  Robert, 
Charles  B.,  George  K.  and  Theodore  F.  He  lost  his  only  son,  Edgar  A.,  in 
1889,  aged  fifteen  and  one  half  years. 

Our  subject  has  also  been  interested  in  local  politics,  having  for  six  3'ears 
served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council,  and  for  nine  years  on  the  school  board, 
of  which  he  was  president  a  part  of  that  time.  He  was  a  trustee  of  Paxton 
Collegiate  Institute  for  years.  He  maintains  pleasant  relations  with  his  old 
army  comrades,  is  a  member  of  Paxton  Post,  No.  387,  of  which  he  was  the 
first  commander.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  Paxton  Lodge,  No.  416,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.,  Ford  Chapter,  No.  113,  R.  A.  M.,  Mount  Olivet  Commandery,  No.  38, 
K.  T.,  Gibson  Council,  No.  72,  R.  &  S.  I\r.,  and  Patton  Lodge,  No.  498,  K.  P. 
He  and  his  wife  attend  the  Presbyterian  church,  to  the  support  of  which  they 
contribute  liberally,  giving  generously  to  all  church  and  charitable  interests, 
as  did  also  the  daughter,  who  is  gratefully  remembered  at  Paxton  for  her 
exemplary  character,  her  interest  in  church  work,  and  particularly  her  suc- 
cessful career  as  teacher  and  superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  Sunday 
school  when  she  was  but  a  young  miss  herself.  Her  kindness  of  heart  was  well 
known  among  the  less  fortunate  and  their  needs  when  known  to  her  had  quick 
attention,  with  always  a  wish  on  her  part  that  only  The  Master,  the  recipients 
and  herself  should  know. 

The  terms,  progress  and  patriotism,  might  be  considered  the  keynote  of 
Colonel  Bogardus'  character,  for  throughout  his  career  he  has  labored  for  the 
improvement  of  every  line  of  business  or  public  interest  with  which  he  has 
been  associated,  and  at  all  times  has  been  actuated  by  a  fidelity  to  his  country 
and  her  welfare.  The  difficulties  which  he  had  to  encounter  in  his  own 
business  career  have  made  him  ever  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  young 
men  who  are  starting  out  in  life  without  capital  as  he  did,  to  whom  his  liusiness 
record  should  serve  as  a  source  of  inspiration  and  encouragement. 


MRS.  CILVRLES  BOGARDUS. 

]\Irs.  Charles  Bogardus,  nee  Hannah  W.  Pells,  only  daughter  of  the  late 
William  H.  Pells,  one  of  the  founders  of  Paxton,  first  saw  Paxton  in  1860,  on 
a  visit  with  her  father  and  brother,  little  thinking  it  was  destined  to  be  her 
future  home,  where  the  greater  part  of  her  life  would  be  spent. 

In  April,  1872,  she  left  her  old  home  in  Ridgeway,  Orleans  countj',  New 
York,  where  she  was  born  and  married,  and  with  her  husband,  Colonel  Charles 
Bogardus,  their  little  daughter  and  her  father.  Mr.  Pells,  came  to  Paxton, 
where  a  family  home  for  them  all  was  established. 

]\Irs.  B.,  as  she  is  familiarly  called  l)y  many,  is  mucli  like  her  father  in 
disposition  and  Avays,  inherits  his  business  traits  in  a  marked  degree.  She  has 
always  been  the  confidant  of  her  husliand.  who  always  counsels  with  her  on 


332  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

propositions  of  any  moment,  and  he  says:     "She  never  advised  him  wrong." 
Simple  and  domestic  in  her  taste,  her  home  is  her  earthly  Heaven. 

Flowers  are  to  her  a  great  pleasure,  and  with  the  ample  grounds  of  the 
home,  she  has  gratified  her  taste  with  careful  selections  of  choice  kinds,  among 
which  were  forty  varieties  of  roses. 

^  Her  large  circle  of  friends  is  made  up  for  their  true  worth  wnthout  a 
thought  of  wealth  or  social  position.  Many  people  of  lowly  station  are  among 
her  most  cherished  friends,  and  b^^  whom  she  is  greatly  beloved.  It  is  not 
strange  that  she  is  so  w^ell  beloved  by  all.  Kind  of  heart  and  charitable,  but 
ahvaj's  wanting  her  charities  unknown.  A  friend  of  education,  for  many  years 
she  and  her  husband  kept  a  certain  number  of  pupils  in  Rice  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute at  their  own  expense;  trjang  to  keep  it  secret,  but  the  young  people 
benefited  told  it,  much  to  their  regret.  The  writer  learns  that  man}'  young  men 
and  women  had  a  helping  hand  from  them.  Some  are  teachers  and  others 
occupy  business  positions  toda.y. 

Paxton  was  without  a  park  and  she  gave  a  block  of  ground  set  to  trees 
for  that  purpose.  The  public  Avanted  an  addition  to  the  park,  again  she 
responded  W'ith  a  gift  of  more  ground,  wnth  the  only  stipulation  that  the  gifts 
should  bear  the  name  of  "Pells  Park,"  in  honor  of  her  father. 

The  University  of  Michigan  needed  grounds  for  their  engineering  studies 
and  other  university  work,  and  they  had  but  a  small  appropriation  for  it.  She 
and  her  husband  talked  the  matter  over  with  the  university  committee,  learned 
their  needs  and  together  gave  them  a  deed  to  one  thousand,  four  hundred  and 
forty-one  acres,  with  three  miles  of  lake  frontage,  Avorth  about  twelve  times 
the  amount  of  their  appropriation  as  appraised  by  the  committee  representing 
the  university. 

A  good  wife,  best  of  mothers,  a  kind-hearted  neighbor,  most  considerate 
of  the  welfare  of  her  friends ;  a  noble  woman,  w^ell  Avorthy  to  be  the  Avife  of  her 
distinguished  husband  AA^ho  has  been  the  recipient  of  high  military  and  civil 
honors  constantly  since  he  attained  his  majority. 

We  Avere  told  a  little  story  bA'  one  of  her  intimate  friends,  in  confidence, 
yet  we  are  going  to  tell  it,  knoAving  she  AA^ould  object,  as  it  best  illustrates  her 
kindness  of  heart  and  consideration  of  the  poor  better  than  a  A'olume  could 
express  it.  Some  years  ago  during  the  game  season,  her  husband  sent  some 
quail  to  her,  of  Avhich  she  is  A^ery  fond.  A  fcAV  moments  after  the  quail  had 
been  received  and  put  aAvay,  a  tramp  came  to  the  back  door  and  asked  for 
something  to  eat.  Mrs.  B.  overheard  him  asking  for  some  meat,  saying  he  had 
not  tasted  meat  for  days.  There  happened  to  be  none  in  the  house.  She  at 
once  invited  him  in,  her  cook  being  indisposed,  she  dressed  the  largest  quail 
and  cooked  it  Avith  other  things,  giving  him  a  breakfast  that  rarely  falls  to  the 
lot  of  a  tramp.  The  cook  told  of  it,  and  her  friends  of  course  joked  her;  her 
reply.  Avas  that  she  only  did  her  duty  and  Avould  feed  quail  to  one  of  God's 
unfortunates  again  if  he  seemed  Avorthy.  She  said  the  thanks  and  look  of 
thankfulness  given  her  by  the  aged  man  and  his  words,  as  he  raised  his  much 


.lOHX  A.  MONTELIUS 


"-■jli'^^'         ^-^9^ 


«»v 


WILLIAM    A.    PIPER 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  33.7 

worn  cap,  "Lady,  tliat  is  the  l)est  meal  I  have  eaten  since  I  liad  a  home  of  my 
own,"  were  worth  many  times  the  trouble  of  dressing  and  cooking  the  qnail 
and  getting  him  a  breakfast.  No  person  was  ever  turned  away  hungry  from 
her  door. 

Mrs.  Bogardus  inherited  from  her  father  and  brother  large  property 
interests  in  ]\Iichigan.  Illinois,  city  of  Paxton  and  elsewhere,  in  which  she 
takes  a  keen  interest.  She  and  her  husband  spend  much  of  their  time  at 
Pellston,  the  namesake  of  her  father;  her  deep  interest  in  the  growth,  and  her 
constant  thoughtfulness  for  the  welfare  of  this  youthful  city,  and  the  better- 
ment of  its  people  have  caused  her  to  be  called  "The  Mother  of  Pellston," 
and  still  her  love  for  Paxton  and  Paxton  interests  and  her  people  have  never 
diminished. 

She  has  kept  pace  with  her  husband,  in  all  his  undertakings  has  been  his 
faithful  helpmate  and  most  valued  counselor. 


Wn  ^«    ^^V-^- ^ 


S.  VV\ 


HON.  JOHN  A.  MONTELIUS. 


Tlie  specific  and  distinctive  office  of  biography  is  not  to  give  voice  to  a  mnji's 
modest  estimate  of  himself  and  his  accomplishments  but  rather  to  leave  the  per- 
petual record  establishing  his  character  by  the  concensus  of  opinion  on  the  part 
of  his  fellowmen.  Throughout  Ford  county  Hon.  John  A.  ]\Iontelius  is  spoken 
of  in  terms  of  admiration  and  respect.  His  life  has  been  so  varied  in  its  activity, 
so  honorable  in  its  purposes,  so  far-reaching  and  beneficial  in  its  effects  that 
it  has  become  an  integral  part  of  Piper  City  and  has  also  left  an  impress  upon 
the  annals  of  the  state.  While  in  one  sense  he  cannot  be  called  a  public  man,  al- 
beit he  has  held  some  political  offices,  he  has  nevertheless  exerted  an  immeasure- 
able  influence  on  the  city  of  his  residence ;  in  business  life  as  a  financier  and 
promoter  of  extensive  commercial  and  industrial  enterprises ;  in  social  circles  by 
reason  of  a  charming  personality  and  unfeigned  cordiality;  in  politics  by  reason 
of  his  public  spirit  and  devotion  to  the  general  good  as  well  as  to  liis  compre- 
hensive understanding  of  any  questions  affecting  state  and  national  welfare ; 
and  in  those  departments  of  activity  which  work  for  the  bettterment  of  man- 
kind through  his  benevolence  and  his  liberality. 

Mr.  Montelius  was  born  in  Mififlinburg,  Pennsylvania,  May  29,  1844,  and  is 
a  descendant  of  Frederick  IMarcus  Montelius,  who  started  across  the  Atlantic  in 
the  winter  of  1773,  landing  in  Pliiladelphia,  on  the  25th  of  August.  He  carried 
on  merchandising  there  for  some  time  and  afterward  removed  to  ReamstoAvn, 
Pennsylvania,  Avhere  his  death  occurred.  Johii  IMontelius,  his  son,  and  the 
grandfather  of  John  A.  IMontelius,  took  up  his  abode  in  IMifflinburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, about  1800,  and  followed  the  trade  of  a  tanner  as  a  means  of  livelihood. 
He  became  one  of  the  prominent  and  influential  residents  of  his  locality,  which 


338  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COLLXTY 

he  represented  in  the  state  k^gishiture,  uLsu  serving  as  associate  judge  of  the 
county. 

His  family  numbered  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  including  Charles  Monte- 
lius.  who  was  hor-n  in  IMifflinburg  in  1811.  In  early  manhood  he  Icnrned  the 
tanner's  trade  hut  afterw^ard  engaged  in  nu^rchandising.  lu  18-'>7  lie  wedded 
Rebecca  Howard  Piper,  who  died  in  1866  and  the  following  year  Mr.  Montelius 
came  to  Piper  City  and  resided  wnth  his  son.  John  A.  They  w^ere  in  business 
together  through  the  succeeding  six  years,  after  which  Charles  ]\[ontelins  re- 
tired. At  his  death  in  1882  his  remains  were  taken  back  to  I'ennsylvania  and 
laid  by  the  side  of  his  wife.  His  early  political  allegiance  w^as  given  to  the  whig 
party  and  upon  its  dissolution  he  became  a  republican.  A  prominent  member  of 
the  l^resbyterian  church,  he  served  as  one  of  its  elders  for  many  years,  and  his 
life  was  ever  upright  and  honorable.  Of  his  family  two  children  died  in  in- 
fancy. One  son,  William  Piper,  completed  his  literary  education  in  Lafayette 
College  and  spent  two  years  in  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Allegheny. 
He  then  became  connected  with  the  Christian  Commission  and  in  the  fall  of 
1864  was  stationed  at  Huntsville,  Alabama.  He  died  June  15,  1865,  at  Mifflin- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  from  disease  contracted  in  this  service.  Harry  G. 
Montelius,  the  youngest  brother  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Mifflinburg,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1859,  and  died  in  California,  February  18,  1899. 

At  the  usual  age  John  A.  IMontelius  began  his  education  as  a  pupil  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  city  and  when  he  put  aside  his  text-books  in  1859 
he  entered  upon  his  l)usiness  career  as  a  salesman  in  a  store  in  ]\Iilton,  l*ennsyl- 
vania.  Tie  also  spent  one  year  in  Lewisburg  and  in  1861  he  enlisted  at  the 
first  call  for  volunteers,  going  to  Camp  Curtain,  at  Harrisburg,  Imt  w^as 
rejected.  He  then  reenlisted  on  the  17th  of  June,  1863,  for  one  hundred  days' 
service,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  D,  Thirty-first  Pennsylvania  Infan- 
try, which  time  he  spent  at  Cunil^erland,  Maryland.  He  was  discharged  at 
Harrisburg,  August  8,  1863,  and  on  the  12th  of  July,  186-t,  again  joined  the 
Union  army,  as  a  member  of  the  First  Battalion  of  Pennsylvania  Infantry, 
with  which  he  continued  until  honorably  discharged  on  the  11th  of  November 
following.  Thus  before  he  allaiucd  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  had  three 
times  enlisted  for  defense  of  the  Union. 

Ill  tile  fall  of  1865  Mr.  Montelius  further  qualified  For  the  busiiu^ss  world 
as  a  student  in  Quaker  City  Business  College  of  Philadeli)hia,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer of  186()  he  held  a  position  in  the  Corn  Exchange  National  Hatdc  of 
Philadelphia.  Thinking  to  find  better  business  opportunities  in  the  middle  west 
he  arrived  in  Piper  City  on  the  14th  of  November,  1866,  and  has  since  been 
a  resident  of  Ford  county,  where  he  has  figured  most  prominently  in  business 
affairs.  On  the  6th  of  December  he  joined  his  uncle.  Dr.  Pipei".  in  whose 
honor  I'iper  C'ity  was  named,  in  the  conduct  of  a  general  mercantile  enter- 
prise. (Changes  in  the  partnership  from  time  to  time  induced  the  adoption 
of  the  firm  style  oT  Piper,  Montelius  &  Company,  C.  Montelius  &  Son  and  J. 
A.  Montelius,  for  in  later  years  Mr.  Montelius  became  sole  proprietor.     He 


HISTORY  OP  FORD   COUNTY  339 

has  figured  prominently  in  the  finaneial  eircles  of  tlie  city  since  1867.  He 
was  originally  connected  with  his  father  in  banking  and  sold  out  to  Campbell 
&  Thompson,  with  the  intention  of  devoting  his  time  to  his  extensive  landed 
interests.  He  organized  the  First  National  Bank  of  Piper  City  and  from 
the  beginning,  April  14,  1900,  has  been  its  president.  Previous  to  this  he 
conducted  the  Piper  City  Bank,  a  private  bank,  which  he  bought  of  Durham 
Brothers  in  1896.  The  National  Bank  is  capitalized  for  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  his  son,  Joseph  K.,  is  associated  with  him  in  this  enterprise. 
The  bank  has  become  recognized  as  one  of  the  strongest  financial  concerns  of 
Ford  county  and  this  part  of  the  state,  having  been  established  on  a  safe, 
conservative  basis,  while  the  policy  maintained  has  always  been  such  as  to 
mei'it  the  unqualified  confidence  and  trust  of  the  public. 

Almost  from  the  beginning  of  his  residence  here  ]\Ir.  JMontelius  has  like- 
wise been  engaged  in  the  grain  trade.  He  is  a  man  of  resourceful  ability, 
recognizing  and  utilizing  opportunities  that  others  pass  by  heedlessly.  He 
owns  two  grain  elevators  in  Piper  City,  the  business  being  now  conducted  by 
his  son,  George  D.,  under  the  firm  name  of  George  D.  Montelius  &  Company. 
For  forty  years  he  has  been  associated  with  the  grain  trade  and  his  operations 
in  that  line  have  brought  him  a  gratifying  financial  return.  From  time  to 
time  ]\Ir.  JMontelius  has  made  very  extensive  investments  in  realty  and  is  now 
the  owner  of  over  five  thousand  acres  in  Ford  and  Iroquois  counties.  He 
and  his  three  sons  are  conducting  their  business  interests  under  the  same  roof 
and  the  name  of  IMontelius  is  one  of  the  strongest  in  trade  and  financial  cir- 
cles in  this  part  of  the  state.  The  youngest  son,  Jolm  A.,  is  conducting  the 
implement  business  which  was  established  by  the  father  about  three  decades 
ago.  At  one  time  Mr.  Montelius  also  conducted  a  branch  agricultural  imple- 
ment store  at  Kempton  but  has  withdrawn  from  that  field,  since  turning  over 
this  department  of  his  business  to  his  son. 

Not  only  in  business  lines  but  also  in  many  other  ways  Mr.  Montelius 
has  been  a  most  active  and  potent  factor  in  the  life  of  the  city.  In  early 
manhood  he  served  for  a  nundjer  of  terms  as  supervisor  of  Brenton  townshi}) 
and  was  chairman  of  the  board.  In  1900  he  was  elected  representative  of  his 
district  in  the  general  assembly  ami  his  legislative  course  was  so  satisfactory 
to  his  constituents  that  he  was  reelected  in  1902,  serving  in  the  forty-second 
and  forty-third  sessions  of  the  house.  In  the  latter  he  had  the  honor  of 
introducing  the  local  option  bill,  drawn  by  the  Anti-Saloon  League,  of  which 
he  is  a  member.  He  also  introduced  amendments  to  the  farm  drainage  law, 
which  were  of  great  benefit  to  this  section  of  the  state.  He  served  on  the 
revenue  and  banking  committees  and  was  chairman  of  the  committc^e  of  Sol- 
diers and  Sailors  Home  and  the  Orphans  Home  at  Normal.  He  stood  with 
thirty-nine  Sherman  men  who  went  to  defeat  together.  He  lacked  but  a  few 
votes  of  election  to  the  speakership  of  the  general  assembly  at  the  time  when 
John  H.  IMiller  was  chosen.  He  is  a  warm  personal  as  well  as  political  friend 
of  Shelby  M.  Cullom,  and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  friendship  among  many 


340  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

of  the  distinguished  political  leaders  of  the  state.  In  1904  he  was  chosen 
the  presidential  elector  and  cast  his  ballot  for  Roosevelt.  ]\Ir.  Montelius  has 
been  a  student  of  the  problems  which  constitute  political  interest  at  the  present 
day  and  of  the  great  issues  which  divide  the  two  parties  with  their  roots 
extending  down  to  the  bedrock  of  the  foundation  of  the  republic,  he  has  a  true 
statesman's  grasp.  His  ideas  and  labors  concerning  politics  and  those  interests 
which  are  to  be  conserved  through  political  labor  have  been  at  all  times  in- 
tensely practical. 

Mr.  Montelius  was  married  on  the  8th  of  October.  1867,  in  Mifflinburg. 
Pennsylvania,  to  Miss  Catherine  Gast,  a  native  of  that  city  and  a  daughter  of 
Henry  and  Mary  Gast.  They  became  the  parents  of  six  children :  Charles 
Henry,  Avho  died  in  infancy ;  the  three  sons  mentioned  above ;  and  ]\Iaggie  and 
Mary  Rebecca,  the  daughters  of  the  family,  at  home. 

]Mr.  Montelius  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  post  of  Piper  City,  being 
one  of  its  organizers  and  the  only  charter  member  now  living,  and  he  is  prom- 
inent in  the  order  in  Illinois.  He  is  an  exemplary  Mason,  l)eing  a  charter 
member  of  Piper  Lodge,  No.  608,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Fairbury  Chapter,  No.  99, 
R.  A.  M. ;  and  St.  Paul  Commandery,  No.  34,  K.  T.  at  Fairbury.  He  has 
also  attained  the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite  in  the  Oriental  con- 
sistory of  Chicago.  While  his  life  has  been  a  most  busy  one,  his  extensive 
business  interests  and  political  service  making  constant  demands  upon  his  time 
and  attention,  he  has  yet  found  opportunity  to  devote  to  the  higher,  holier 
duties  of  life,  wliich  many  men  neglect  in  the  press  and  stress  of  business 
interests.  For  many  years  he  has  been  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  tin; 
church  have  been  far-reaching  and  effective. 

His  business  career  seems  in  a  measure  phenomenal  when  one  recognizes 
the  fact  that  while  today  he  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  Ford  county  he 
had  a  capital  of  only  twelve  hundred  dollars  when  he  arrived  in  Piper  City 
and  this  had  been  saved  from  his  earnings  since  the  time  when  he  started  out 
in  l)usiness  life  empty-handed.  He  has  been  generous  of  his  means  in  sup- 
port of  many  valuable  public  measures.  Regarded  as  a  citizen  and  in  liis 
social  relations  he  l)elongs  to  that  public-spirited,  useful  and  helpful  type  of 
men  whose  ambitions  and  desires  are  centered  and  directed  in  those  channels 
through  which  tlow  the  greatest  and  most  permanent  good  to  llie  greatest 
number. 


HON.    J.    P.    IMIDDLECOFF. 

Jonathan  P.  Middlecoff  is  a  citizen  to  whom  Paxton,  in  large  measure, 
owes  her  commercial  prosperity,  material  improvement  and  architectural 
adornment.  Tlie  history  of  Ford  county  would  be  very  incomplete  and  unsat- 
isfactory without  a  personal  and  somewhat  extended  mention  of  him.  He 
finds  an  appropriate  place  in  the  history  of  those  men  of  business  and  enter- 


J.  p.  MIDDLECOFF 


MRS.  J.  P.   MIDDLECOFF 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  345 

prise  who  have  e.stul)lishecl  aiul  controlled  large  affairs  and  have  brought  to 
successful  completion  important  schemes  of  trade  and  profit,  thus  contributing 
in  an  eminent  degree  to  the  development  of  tlie  vast  resources  of  the  state. 
One  of  the  prominent  characteristics  of  his  successful  business  career  is  that 
his  vision  has  never  been  bounded  by  the  exigencies  of  the  moment  but  has 
covered  as  Avell  the  opportunities  and  possibilities  of  the  future.  This  has 
led  him  into  extensive  undertakings  bringing  him  into  marked  prominence  in 
industrial,  commercial  and  financial  circles. 

JMr.  jMiddlecoff  is  a  native  of  Richmond,  Indiana.  l)orn  on  the  20th  of 
February,  1838.  The  father,  Daniel  Middlecoff,  was  l:>orn  in  Maryland  in 
1800  and  in  the  same  state,  in  1809,  occurred  the  birth  of  Theresa  Newcomer, 
w^ho  in  early  womanhood  became  his  wife.  On  removing  from  Maryland  in 
1827  thoy  established  their  home  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  where  they  remained 
until  18-49.  In  that  year  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  for 
many  years  Daniel  ]\Iiddlecoff  was  a  prominent  and  successful  wholesale 
grocery  merchant  there.  In  1861  he  settled  in  Patton  township.  Ford  county, 
Illinois,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1866.  His  widow  long  survived 
him,  passing  away  in  1898. 

When  a  lad  of  eleven  years  Jonathan  P.  Middlecoff  became  a  pupil  in  the 
public  schools  of  Cincinnati  and  later  continued  his  education  in  St.  John's 
College  and  in  the  Farmers  College  of  Ohio.  In  1857  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
entered  business  life  in  this  state  as  a  merchant  of  Ludlow,  Champaign  county, 
where  he  remained  until  1862.  In  that  year  he  removed  to  a  farm  in  Ford 
county  and  Avas  actively  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits  until  1867,  w^hen 
he  became  a  hardware  merchant  of  Paxton,  continuing  the  business  with 
success  for  several  years.  Constantly  watchful  of  opportunities  for  the 
extension  of  his  business,  in  1881  he  became  associated  with  C.  Bogardus,  P. 
Whitmer  and  F.  L.  Cook  in  the  manufacture  of  drain  tile  and  brick  under  the 
firm  name  of  the  Paxton  Brick  &  Tile  Company.  Mr.  Middlecoff'  w^as  chosen 
president  and  general  manager  and  from  the  beginning  the  enterprise  proved 
a  success.  The  trade  steadily  increased,  his  capable  control  being  manifest  in 
a  growing  patronage  that  rendered  this  a  most  profitable  investment.  Mr. 
Middlecoff  continued  at  the  head  of  the  business  until  1902. 

In  the  meantime,  in  1888,  he  assisted  in  organizing  the  Paxton  Canning 
Company,  of  which  he  was  also  chosen  president  and  general  manager.  The 
same  spirit  of  enterprise  Avas  ])rought  to  bear  in  its  control  and  thus  the  suc- 
cess was  assured  from  the  start.  In  all  of  his  business  interests  Mr.  Middle- 
coff has  been  watchful  of  every  detail,  has  been  energetic,  prompt  and  notably 
reliable  and  in  the  execution  of  well  defined  plans  and  purposes  has  met  with 
success.  From  time  to  time  he  has  made  judicious  investments  in  property 
and  now  has  extensive  real-estate  holdings,  including  valuable  farms  and  much 
city  reality.  In  1896  he  was  the  organizer  of  the  hotel  company  which  erected 
the  present  magnificent  hotel  at  Paxton,  a  building  which  would  be  a  credit  to 
a  city  of  much  larger  size.     He  was  elected  president  of  the  company  and 


346  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

after  the  completion  of  the  structure  the  hotel  was  named  the  Middlecotf  in 
his  honor.  It  is  l)ut  one  of  many  evidences  of  his  pu])lic-spirited  interest  in 
Paxton.  Although  he  spends  but  four  or  five  months  of  each  year  here  he 
loves  his  home  city  as  a  father  loves  his  child  and  does  much  to  further  its 
interests  and  promote  its  progress. 

The  marriage  of  J.  P.  Middlecoff  and  Miss  IMary  F.  Fox  was  celebrated 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  January.  1864.  IMrs.  Middlecoff  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  that  city  and  was  a  daughter  of  Richard  Fox,  the  original  starch 
manufacturer.  They  became  the  parents  of  three  children  but  Alice,  the 
eldest,  died  at  tlu'  age  of  sixteen  months,  Samu(>l  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 
months  and  Addie  in  early  womanhood,  March  9,  1891.  Recently  Mr.  IMiddle- 
coff  has  erected  in  Paxton  a  colonial  mansion,  the  finest  residence  of  the  city, 
and  also  maintains  a  home  in  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  where  he  spends  the 
winter  months. 

Not  alone  in  l)usiness  affairs  but  through  other  avenues  of  activity  has 
]Mr.  Middlecoff  contributed  to  public  progress.  He  was  for  some  years  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  republican  leaders  of  central  Illinois,  and  was  a  delegate 
to  the  national  republican  convention  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1900.  He  was 
first  called  to  office  in  1866  as  supervisor  of  Patton  township.  He  served  also 
in  the  following  year  and  was  again  elected  in  1872,  1877  and  1878.  During 
the  last  two  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  county  board  and  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  public  affairs  brought  to  bear  the  same  executive  force  and  keen 
discrimination  that  have  ever  characterized  him  in  his  business  life.  That 
the  public  regarded  him  worthy  of  higher  political  honors  was  indicated  by 
their  election  of  him  as  their  representative  in  the  twenty-eighth  general  as- 
sembly. As  a  member  of  the  house  he  served  on  the  committees  on  public 
buildings  and  grounds,  on  corporations  and  on  county  and  township  organi- 
zations. He  proved  an  active  worker  in  the  committee  room  and  on  all 
occasions  gave  earnest  consideration  to  every  ([uestion  which  came  up  for 
settlement.  Four  times  he  served  as  nuiyor  of  Paxton  and  as  its  chief  execu- 
tive promoted  reform,  progress  and  improvement  along  various  lines, 
holding  high  the  standard  of  municipal  honor  and  exercising  his  official  pre- 
rogatives in  support  of  those  interests  and  movements  Avhich  were  a  matter  of 
civic  virtue  and  civic  pride.  During  his  second  term  as  mayor  the  water- 
works were  put  in  operation  and  during  his  fourth  term  the  city  hall  was 
erected.  'I'll is  fine  structure  and  ornament  to  Paxton  owes  its  existence  in  no 
small  degree  to  Mr.  Middlecoff,  who  advocated  a  l)uilding  that  would  be  a 
credit  to  the  city. 

In  Masonry  ]Mr.  Middlecoff  has  attained  high  rank.  He  belongs  to  Orien- 
tal Consistory,  S.  P.  R.  S.,  of  Chicago,  and  to  Morocco  Temple  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine  in  Jacksonville,  Floi-ida.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  active  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  chiii-ch  of  Paxton  and  he  has  been  leader  of  the  choir 
for  thirty-five  years.  His  life  has  been  an  open  scroll  inviting  the  closest 
scrutiny.       His  achievements  represent  the  result  of  honest  endeavor  along 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  347 

lines  where  mature  judgment  has  pointed  the  way.  He  possesses  a  weight  of 
character  and  native  sagacity,  a  discriminating  mind  and  the  fidelity  to  princi- 
ples that  command  the  respect  of  all.  There  is  perhaps  no  other  one  citizen 
who  has  done  for  Paxton  what  Jonathan  P.  iMiddlecoff  has  accomplished  for 
the  citv. 


ROBERT  A.   McCRACKEN. 

During  the  entire  period  of  his  manhood  Robert  A.  ]\IcCracken  has  been 
connected  prominently'  with  business  interests  in  Paxton  and  Ford  county  and 
his  name  has  long  been  an  honored  one  on  commercial  paper.  While  he  pre 
pared  for  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  has  largely  retired  from  active 
practice  but  his  knowledge  of  the  law  proves  of  much  value  to  him  in  the  con- 
duct of  his  private  business  interests.  He  is  president  of  the  Kankakee  City 
Electric  Railway  and  has  extensive  investments,  while  at  the  same  time  he  h  i^ 
the  care  of  his  father's  estate,  his  mother,  ]\Irs.  E.  C.  ]\IcCracken  being  execu- 
trix.   The  estate  embraces  forty-six  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  Illinois  land. 

A  native  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  IMcCracken  was  born  in  Lawrence  county, 
November  19,  1854,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Robert  IMcCracken,  of  whom  mention  is 
made  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  He  was  but  seven  years  of  age  when  he 
accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Ford  county  and  here  the  days  of 
his  boyhood  were  passed,  his  education  being  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of 
Paxton.  In  1871  he  removed  to  Hoopeston  with  his  father  who  was  engaged  ui 
merchandising  there  until  1876,  when  the  family  returned  to  Paxton.  He  then 
became  associated  with  his  father  in  buying  and  selling  real  estate  and  from 
that  time  to  the  present  has  been  more  or  less  actively  associated  with  the  pur- 
chase and  sale  of  farm  and  city  property.  Some  time  after  his  return  to  Paxton 
he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  and  under  the  direction  of  the  law  firm 
of  Cook  &  I\Ioffett.  In  1888  he  passed  the  examination  which  secured  his 
admission  to  the  bar  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Although 
he  does  not  now  engage  in  practice  his  knowledge  of  the  law  is  of  inestimable 
value  to  him  in  the  control  of  his  property  interests.  In  August,  1905,  in  com- 
pany with  three  others,  he  purchased  the  Kankakee  City  Electric  Railway  and 
on  the  election  of  officers  was  chosen  president,  with  E.  E.  Rollins  as  vice  presi- 
dent and  E.  D.  Risser  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  These  offices  they  still  hold 
and  are  thus  becoming  actively  associated  Avith  the  great  system  of  interurban 
railways,  which  have  been  so  important  a  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
state.  He  is  widely  known  as  a  man  of  sound  business  judgment  and  of  unfalt- 
ering enterprise,  also  notably  prompt  and  reliable,  having  gained  an  unassail- 
able reputation  for  business  integrity. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  1889,  Mr.  IMcCracken  was  married  to  Miss  Luella  B. 
Kemp,  a  daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Catherine  S.  (Axline)  Kemp,  who  came  to 
Ford  county,  Illinois,  Avith  her  parents  from  Wenona,  Marshall  county,  this 


348  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

state,  in  3875,  the  family  home  being  established  on  a  farm  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  three  miles  west  of  Paxton.  Unto  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  McCracken 
have  been  born  three  children :  Howard  Orr,  Ruth  A.  and  Wendell  Kemp, 
the  first  two  being  high  school  students. 

Mr.  McCracken  and  his  family  are  active  members  of  the  First  IMethodist 
Episcopal  church  of  Paxton  and  are  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  pro- 
gress and  development  of  the  city.  His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the 
republican  party  and  although  not  an  aspirant  for  office  he  is  in  this  regard,  as 
in  every  other  relation  of  life,  a  stalwart  champion  of  the  principles  in  which  he 
believes.  He  is  never  neglectful  of  the  duties  of  citizenship  nor  forgetful  of  his 
obligations  to  his  fellowmen.  His  deep  interest  in  children  is  indicated  by  his 
authorship  of  a  child's  story  book,  which  was  published  in  1901  under  the  title 
of  "Hidalgo  and  Home  Life  at  West  Lawn,"  the  preface  being  written  by  Miss 
Lida  B.  McMurray,  of  the  State  Normal  School  of  De  Kalb.  This  volume  was 
well  received  by  the  press  and  public,  the  first  edition  having  already  been  ex- 
hausted. The  family  home  at  the  corner  of  West  Center  and  Elm  streets  is 
among  the  finest  of  Paxton 's  residences  and  here  Mr.  McCracken 's  many 
friends  know  him  as  a  genial,  hospitable  host.  He  has  a  wide  accpiaintance  in 
Ford  county,  where  almost  his  entire  life  has  been  passed,  is  popular  Avith  all 
classes  and  without  invidious  distinction  may  be  termed  one  of  the  county's 
most  honored  and  representative  citizens. 


OSCAR  HENRY  DAIMON. 

Oscar  Henry  Damon  is  a  retired  merchant  of  Gibson  City,  enjoying  in  well 
earned  rest  the  fruits  of  his  former  toil.  He  was  born  in  Hanover,  New  Hamp- 
shire, May  24,  1835,  his  parents  being  Ebenezer  and  Chloe  A.  (Lawrence) 
Damon,  the  latter  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Lawrence.  The  father  was  born 
November  1,  1812,  and  was  a  builder  in  Lawrence,  IMassachusetts,  whence  he 
removed  to  Rutland,  La  Salle  county,  Illinois.  The  family  was  founded  in 
America  by  Deacon  John  Damon,  who  arrived  in  Reading,  Massachusetts,  in 
1630  and  was  a  selectman  there.  He  made  his  home  in  that  place  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1708.  His  descendants  are  now  widely  scattered  but 
representatives  of  the  family  have  always  remained  residents  of  New  England. 
Ebenezer  Damon,  on  removing  westward,  established  his  home  in  LaSalle 
county,  where  he  continued  his  residence  up  to  the  time  of  his  demise  in  1870. 
His  widow,  long  surviving  him,  died  in  1890  at  Gibson  City. 

Oscar  H.  Damon,  one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  acquired  a  common-school 
education  in  Lyndon,  Vermont,  and  in  Lawrence,  ^Massachusetts.  After  putting 
aside  his  text-books  he  was  employed  in  a  store  and  factory  until  twenty  years 
of  age,  when  he  started  in  business  on  his  own  account,  removing  westward  to 
Rutland,  La  Salle  county.  He  there  opened  a  dry-goods  store  in  connection 
with  his  brother  and  was  thus  engaged  until  1861,  when  he  put  aside  business 


D 
O. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY  351 

and  personal  considerations  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  the  Civil  Avar. 
He  enlisted  in  Battery  K,  Second  Illinois  Light  Artillery,  and  participated  in 
many  battles  which  led  np  to  the  final  triumph  of  the  Union  army,  remaining  at 
the  front  until  nuistered  out  in  1864  because  of  physical  disability.  He  relates 
many  interesting  incidents  of  military  life  and  is  a  worthy  veteran,  whose 
loyalty  to  his  duty  was  never  questioned  on  the  field  of  battle. 

After  being  mustered  out,  INIr.  Damon  served  as  clerk  of  the  Freedman's 
bureau  at  Natchez,  ]\Iississippi,  and  following  his  return  to  the  north  was  post- 
master of  Rutland,  La  Salle  county.  He  afterward  opened  a  drug  store  at 
Coaticook,  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  where  he  remained  in  business 
for  nine  years.  He  afterward  went  to  Olympia,  Washington,  where  he  con- 
tinued for  a  year  and  a  half  and  later  went  to  California  and  to  Chicago.  On 
the  1st  of  IMay,  1878,  he  arrived  in  Gibson  City.  Soon  afterward  he  purchased 
five  hundred  acres  of  land,  for  which  he  paid  thirty  dollars  per  acre  and  which 
is  today  worth  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  per  acre  owing  to  the 
splendid  improvements  he  has  placed  upon  it  and  the  natural  rise  in  value 
consequent  to  the  settlement  of  the  state.  His  property  is  divided  into  three 
farms,  comprising  five  hundred  seventeen  and  a  half  acres  in  Dix  and  Drummer 
townships,  and  he  also  owns  a  half  section  of  land  in  Pike  county,  Illinois,  and 
section  and  a  half  in  North  Dakota.  From  his  property  interests  he  derives  an 
excellent  income,  which  amply  supplies  him  with  all  of  the  comforts  and  some  of 
the  luxuries  of  life.  He  continued  actively  in  his  farming  operations  for  a 
number  of  years  and  still  gives  personal  supervision  to  his  invested  interests. 
He  owns  one  of  the  finest  residences  in  Gibson  City,  erected  in  1906. 

On  the  19th  of  May,  1878,  IMr.  Damon  was  married  to  Mrs.  Margaret  A. 
Lott,  the  widow  of  J.  B.  Lott,  who  owned  all  the  land  where  Gibson  City  is  now 
located.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Damon  have  an  extensive  acquaintance  in  the 
county  and  occupy  a  very  prominent  position  in  social  circles,  being  people  of 
many  friends.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  while  his  wife 
is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  ]\Ir.  Damon  is  serving  as  one  of  the 
elders  and  treasurer  of  his  church  and  also  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  new 
house  of  worship  and  has  taken  a  most  active  and  helpful  interest  in  all  depart- 
ments of  the  church  work.  He  was  also  secretary  of  the  County  Sunday  School 
Association  and  does  all  in  his  power  to  promote  moral  training  of  the  young 
recognizing  the  fact  that  the  early  teachings  are  seldom  forgotten,  but  leave  an 
indelible  impress  upon  the  young  lives.  His  political  allegiance  is  given  the 
republican  party  and  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  its  local  leaders.      He  served  as 


352  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

town  clerk  for  three  years,  was  president  of  the  village  board,  and  has  twice 
served  as  mayor  of  the  city.  His  official  duties  have  ever  been  discharged  with 
promptness  and  fidelity,  winning  him  high  encomiums  and  the  unqualified  trust 
of  his  fellowmen.  He  belongs  to  Lott  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  manifests  the  same 
loyalty  to  liis  country  in  days  of  peace  that  he  displayed  when  upon  southern 
battlefields  he  followed  the  old  flag  to  victory.  His  influence  is  always  given  on 
the  side  of  right,  progress  and  improvement  and  his  labors  have  been  an  element 
not  onl}^  in  the  material  development,  but  in  the  political  and  moral  progress  of 
the  community. 


THOMAS  J.  McDERMOTT. 

Thomas  J.  IMcDermott,  who  owns  and  operates  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  rich  and  productive  land  on  section  16,  Mona  township,  was  born  in 
Peoria  county,  Illinois,  October  18,  1858,  his  parents  being  James  and  Mary 
(Slaven)  IMcDermott,  who  w^ere  both  natives  of  Ireland.  They  emigrated  to 
America  in  the  early  '40s,  locating  in  Peoria  county,  Illinois,  when  the  city  of 
that  name  was  only  a  very  small  river  town,  and  there  the  father  followed  farm- 
ing for  many  years,  being  closely  connected  with  the  pioneer  development  of  that 
part  of  the  state.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  ]\IcDermott  were  born  eight 
children,  as  follows:  Mary  J.,  the  wife  of  Peter  Burns,  of  Peoria  county;  Henry 
who  resides  in  Cullom,  Livingston  county,  Illinois;  James,  who  makes  his  home 
in  Chicago ;  Thomas  J.,  of  this  review ;  Carolina,  who  became  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Foulton  and  resides  in  Cullom ;  Susanna,  who  is  the  wife  of  James  Carl,  of 
Peoria  county;  and  Stephen  and  Matthew,  both  of  whom  make  their  home  in 
Peoria  county. 

Thomas  J.  INIcDermott  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  and 
remained  with  his  father  on  the  home  farm  until  he  had  attained  his  majority, 
early  becoming  familiar  with  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the 
agriculturist.  On  leaving  the  parental  roof  he  took  up  liis  abode  on  a  rented 
farm  near  Piper  City  and  operated  the  place  for  one  year.  On  the  expiration 
of  that  period  he  came  to  Mona  township,  where  he  again  operated  a  rented  farm 
for  two  years  and  then  purcthased  eighty  acres  of  land  on  section  16,  Avhere  he 
now  resides.  As  llie  years  passed  he  brought  the  land  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation  and  added  many  modern  improvements  to  the  farm,  having  also 
extended  the  boundaries  of  his  place  until  it  now  comprises  three  hundred  and 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  353 

twenty  acres  of  fine  farming  land.  He  is  widely  known  as  one  of  the  representa- 
tive and  enterprising  agriculturists  of  the  county  and  in  addition  to  the  work  of 
general  farming  he  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  full  blooded  Hereford  cattle, 
both  branches  of  his  business  returning  to  him  a  gratifying  annual  income. 

In  1881  Mr.  McDermott  was  united  in  marriage  to  IMiss  Elizabeth  IMullaly, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Margaret  Mullaly,  both  natives  of  Ireland,  who  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  America  at  an  early  day.  They  became  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  as  follows :  John ;  James ;  William,  deceased ;  Mary  Jane,  deceased ; 
Frank ;  Mrs.  McDermott ;  Anna,  who  makes  her  home  in  New  Jersey ;  Charles ; 
Thomas;  and  Ella.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McDermott  have  also  been  born  ten 
children :  Thomas  E,  deceased ;  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Albert  Hartquest,  of 
Chatsworth,  Illinois;  James  E.,  at  home;  Mary  E.,  deceased;  Susanna,  Charles 
E.,  Carrie  M.,  Jane  E.,  Thomas  "W.,  and  Orville  M. 

Both  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  McDermott  are  communicants  of  the  Catholic  church 
and  in  his  political  views  our  subject  is  a  democrat.  He  has  never  sought  or 
desired  office,  however,  preferring  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  his  business 
affairs,  in  which  he  has  met  with  a  large  measure  of  prosperity.  He  has  been 
identified  with  the  agricultural  development  of  this  state  from  his  earliest  youth, 
for  he  aided  in  the  cultivation  of  his  father 's  farm  in  Peoria  county  and  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  carried  on  farming  on  his  own  account  in  Ford 
county,  having  seen  the  district  transformed  from  a  wild,  uncultivated  region 
into  -one  of  the  richest  agricultural  states  of  the  Union.  Moreover,  the  success 
which  has  come  to  him  is  due  entirelj^  to  his  own  well  directed  labor  and  enter- 
prise, for  he  started  out  in  life  empty-handed  and  has  steadily  worked  his  way 
upward  until  he  is  now  numbered  among  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  county. 


JOHN  F.  SCHUMACHER. 

John  F.  Schumacher,  well  known  in  financial  circles  in  Ford  county  as 
cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Cabery,  his  native  town,  was  born  on  the  4th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1879.  His  parents  were  John  and  Anna  (Trush)  Schumacher,  both 
natives  of  Germany.  Mrs.  Schumacher  arrived  in  America  about  thirty-five 
years  ago,  some  years  later  than  her  future  husband,  and  they  were  married 
in  Chicago.  Subsequently  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Cabery  on  the  Kanka- 
kee county  side  and  there  the  death  of  Mr.  Schumacher  occurred  on  the  15th 
of  August,  1899,  when  he  was  fifty-five  years  of  age.      The  mother  still  resides 


354  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

here.  In  their  family  were  seven  chihlren :  Elizabeth,  now  a  resident  of 
Chicago;  ^I.  W.,  of  Cabery;  John  F.,  of  this  review;  P.  J.;  Mary;  Anna;  and 
Frank. 

At  the  usual  age  John  F.  Sehumaeher  became  a  pupil  in  the  public 
schools,  wherein  he  pursued  his  studies  to  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  after 
which  he  attended  the  Northern  Illinois  Normal  School  at  Dixon,  Illinois,  and 
further  qualified  for  the  practical  and  responsible  duties  of  life  as  a  student 
in  the  Gem  City  Business  College,  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated in  the  fall  of  1898.  On  the  5th  of  April  of  the  following  year  he 
entered  the  bank  as  bookkeeper  and  assistant  cashier  and  made  it  his  purpose 
to  thoroughly  acquaint  himself  with  the  business  and  to  master  every  task 
assigned  him.  In  IMarch,  1907,  he  was  given  full  charge  of  the  Bank  of 
Cabery  and  as  cashier  is  managing  its  interests.  His  labors  have  contributed 
in  substantial  2ueasure  to  its  success  and  in  its  conduct  he  follows  a  safe,  con- 
servative policy.  He  is  also  manager  of  a  grain  and  implement  business  for 
the  firm  of  Porch  &  Adams,  and  is  regarded  as  a  young  man  of  excellent  busi- 
ness ability  and  executive  force,  of  keen  discernment  and  unfaltering 
enterprise. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Schumacher  is  a  stalwart  republican  and  is 
prominent  locally.  He  has  served  as  township  clerk,  as  commissioner  of  high- 
ways, as  township  treasurer  and  as  village  treasurer,  and  his  duties  have  ever 
been  discharged  with  promptness  and  fidelity.  His  religious  faith  is  that  of 
the  Catholic  church,  and  fraternally  he  is  connected  Avith  the  Knights  of 
Columbus  at  Kankakee,  while  in  Cabery  he  is  clerk  of  the  IModern  Woodmen 
camp.  In  this  part  of  the  county  he  is  well  known,  having  ahvays  resided 
here,  and  is  a  young  man  of  many  friends. 


THOMAS  KEWLEY. 

Thomas  Kewley,  who  is  extensively  and  successfully  identified  with  the 
agricultural  interests  of  Ford  county,  being  the  owner  of  three  hundred  and 
eighty-two  acres  of  fine  farming  land  in  ]\Iona  township,  was  born  on  the  Isle 
of  Man  on  the  12th  of  August,  1849,  his  parents  being  Thomas  and  Katherine 
(JMcQuade)  Kewley.  The  father  emigrated  to  America  in  1854,  locating  in 
New  York,  and  three  years  later  his  wife  and  family  joined  him  there.  They 
remained  in  the  Empire  state  until  1861,  which  year  witnessed  their  arrival 


•y. 


VI 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  357 

in  Henry  county,  Illinois,  where  the  father  operated  a  tract  of  rented  land  for 
ten  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  they  came  to  Mona  township, 
Ford  county,  purchasing-  land  on  section  16.  Here  the  parents  remained  until 
called  to  their  final  rest,  the  mother  passing  away  in  1890,  while  Mr.  Kewley 
survived  until  the  23d  of  August,  1902.  They  were  among  the  early  pioneer 
settlers  of  this  portion  of  the  state,  establishing  a  home  on  the  frontier  and 
aiding  in  the  cultivation  and  development  of  hitherto  wild  laud.  They  had 
but  two  children,  our  subject  being  now  the  only  survivor  of  the  family. 

Thomas  Kewley  was  but  eight  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  mother 
on  her  emigration  to  America,  and  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until 
he  had  attained  his  majority,  assisting  his  father  in  the  labors  of  the  home  farm 
during  the  summer  months  and  attending  school  in  the  winter  seasons.  On 
reaching  man's  estate  he  started  out  in  business  life  on  his  own  account  by 
renting  a  tract  of  land,  which  he  operated  successfully  and  energetically  for 
sixteen  years.  With  the  capital  he  had  acquired  during  this  period  he  then 
purchased  eighty  acres  on  section  18,  Mona  township,  w^liere  he  has  since  made 
his  home.  As  the  years  have  passed  he  has  made  many  substantial  improve- 
ments on  the  place  and,  owing  to  the  prosperity  which  has  attended  his  farm- 
ing interests,  has  been  enabled  to  purchase  more  land  from  time  to  time  until 
he  now  owns  three  hundred  and  eighty-two  acres  in  Mona  township,  while  he 
also  has  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  South  Dakota.  His  landed  hold- 
ings are  thus  quite  extensive  and  he  is  widely  recognized  as  one  of  the  pros- 
perous and  influential  agriculturists  of  the  county. 

In  1874  Mr.  Kewley  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  ]\Iiss  Mary  Tredenick,  who 
was  born  in  Grundy  county,  Illinois,  in  1857.  Her  parents,  who  were  natives 
of  England,  went  to  Canada  in  1854,  later  establishing  their  home  in  Grundy 
county,  Illinois,  where  the  father  followed  farming  for  a  few  years.  They 
then  came  to  Ford  county,  where  both  the  father  and  mother  passed  away. 
They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely :  John,  deceased ;  ]\Irs.  Kew- 
le}^;  Charles,  who  resides  in  CuUom,  Illinois;  and  William,  deceased.  Unto 
our  subject  and  his  w^fe  have  been  l)orn  six  children,  as  follows :  I\Iinnie  L., 
who  has  passed  aw^ay;  Charles  E.,  at  home;  Jennie  A.,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Charles  Thorn  and  makes  her  home  in  Cullom ;  Katie  M.,  the  wife  of  A. 
D.  Layman,  a  farmer  of  Livingston  county ;  and  Frank  II.  and  Bernie  N., 
both  at  home. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Kewley  is  a  republican  and  is  ({uite  prominent 
in  the  local  ranks  of  his  party.  He  is  now  serving  as  school  trustee  and  also 
as  supervisor  of  Mona  township,  having  held   the  latter  office  for  six  years. 


358  HISTORY   OP^  FORD   COUNTY 

Pie  lias  likewise  acted  as  seliool  director  for  fifteen  years,  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion ever  finding  in  him  a  warm  and  helpful  friend.  Fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  Odd  Fellows  Lodge,  No.  680,  and  Camp  No.  1886,  of  the  Wood- 
men, both  of  Cullom,  while  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  Rebekah 
lodge,  No.  656,  at  Cullom.  Their  religious  faith  is  indicated  l)y  their  member- 
ship in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  they  are  widely  and  favorably 
known  for  their  many  excellent  traits  of  character  and  upright  lives.  For 
twenty-two  years  Mr.  Kevvley  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  agricultural 
development  of  Ford  county  and  his  prosperity  is  well  deserved,  as  in  him 
are  embraced  the  characteristics  of  an  unbending  integrity,  unabating  energy 
and  industry  that  never  flags.  He  is  public-spirited,  giving  his  cooperation  to 
every  movement  which  tends  to  promote  the  moral,  intellectual  and  material 
welfare  of  the  community. 


JOHN  lEHL. 


The  spirit  of  self-help  is  the  source  of  all  genuine  worth  in  the  individual. 
It  is  the  man  who  comes  to  recognize  his  own  powers  and  his  own  limitations 
and  who  understands  the  possibilities  that  are  open  in  the  business  world  that 
makes  orderly  progression  along  the  paths  of  success.  Such  a  man  is  John 
lehl,  now  successfully  conducting  a  banking  business  in  Melvin  and  also  deriv- 
ing a  gratifying  income  from  valuable  farming  property. 

He  was  born  in  Baldenheim  in  the  province  of  Alsace,  then  a  part  of 
France  but  now  of  Germany.  His  natal  day  was  January  13,  1839,  and  he 
was  the  second  in  the  family  of  three  children  whose  parents  were  John  and 
Barbara  (lehl)  lehl,  who  though  of  the  same  name  were  not  relatives.  They, 
too,  were  natives  of  Baldenheim,  the  father  born  in  May,  1809,  and  tlie  mother 
in  April  of  the  same  year.  They  continued  residents  of  Germany  until  1850. 
when,  hoping  to  enjoy  better  business  opportnnittes  in  the  new  world,  the 
father  brought  his  family  to  America  and  established  his  home  in  Deerfield 
township.  Lake  county,  Illinois,  where  for  some  years  he  carried  on  a  farm, 
there  residing  luitil  1888,  when  he  removed  to  Northfield  township,  Cook 
county,  Illinois.  The  mother  died  in  Deerfield  township,  Lake  county,  in 
April,  1852,  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years  and  the  father  long  survived,  passing 
away  April  27,  1894.  Of  Iheir  children  Barbara,  the  eldest,  who  was  born 
March  17,   1836,   is  now  the   widow  of  Phillip  Laesser  and  resides  in   North- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  359 

field,  Cook  county.  The  younger  daugliter,  Salome,  born  July  28,  1842,  is 
tlie  widow  of  David  Horenberger  and  a  resident  of  Deerfield,  Lake  county. 

John  lelil,  the  only  son,  remained  a  resident  of  his  native  province  to  the 
age  of  eleven  years,  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  emigration  to 
the  new  world.  They  sailed  from  Havre  to  New  York  and  reached  Chicago 
twenty-one  days  after  their  embarkation.  The  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  was 
a  short  one  for  a  sailing  ship.  As  stated,  the  family  home  was  established 
upon  a  farm  in  Lake  count}^  Illinois,  and  there  John  lehl  remained  with  his 
parents  until  1860,  being  trained  to  the  work  of  the  home  farm,  while  as 
opportunity  offered  he  also  continued  his  education,  begun  in  the  schools  of 
his  native  country,  in  the  public  schools  near  his  father's  home.  When  he 
had  reached  adult  age  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account,  working  as 
a  farm  hand  until  his  labor  had  brought  him  sufficient  capital  to  enable  him 
to  engage  in  business  for  himself.  He  was  employed  at  farm  labor  in  JMarsliall 
county  until  1868  and  was  in  the  employ  of  one  man  for  seven  years. 

In  1868  he  removed  to  Ford  county,  settling  in  Peach  Orchard  township 
before  the  railroad  was  built  or  the  town  of  Melvin  founded.  He  purchased 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  constituting  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  28,  and  is  still  the  owner  of  that  property,  on  which  he  continuously 
made  his  home  until  1874,  when  he  rented  his  farm  and  engaged  in  the  grain 
business  in  Melvin  in  partnership  with  William  Frasius  and  George  T.  Arends 
under  the  firm  style  of  Frasius,  lehl  &  Company.  They  dealt  in  grain,  seeds 
and  coal,  conducting  a  successful  business  until  1876,  when  the  senior  part- 
ner sold  out.  The  firm  name  of  lehl  &  Company  was  then  adopted  and  the 
business  was  thus  carried  on  until  1890,  when  they  withdrew  from  the  grain 
trade  and  established  the  private  banking  business  that  has  since  been  con- 
ducted at  Melvin,  under  the  name  of  lehl  &  Company.  Both  partners  are 
active  in  the  management  of  the  bank,  which  has  long  been  recognized  as  a 
substantial  moneyed  institution,  having  back  of  it  valuable  collateral  in  the 
shape  of  fine  farming  property.  In  1899  they  built  an  attractive  brick  bank 
building,  which  is  an  important  addition  to  the  business  houses  of  Melvin. 
As  Mr.  lehl  has  prospered  in  his  undertakings  he  has  from  time  to  time 
invested  in  land  until  he  is  now  the  owner  of  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  all  in  Ford  county.  It  is  very  rich  and  productive  and  returns  to 
him  a  gratif^'ing  income. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  1871,  ]\Ir.  lehl  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Arends, 
who  was  born  in  Groveland,  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  November  5,  1853,  and 
came  to  Ford  county  in  January,  1870,  with  her    parents,    Teis    and    Teda 


360  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

(Becker)  Arends.  She  is  also  a  sister  of  her  Inisband's  partner.  Unto  INIr. 
and  ]\Irs.  lehl  have  Ix'cn  Ijorn  live  children.  Hannah  is  the  wife  of  ]\I.  T>. 
Townsend,  a  farmer  of  Peach  Orchard  township,  living  about  a  mile  south  of 
IMelvin.  and  they  have  three  children :  Glenn  I.,  IMary  and  John  T.  George 
T.,  who  is  employed  in  the  bank  in  Melvin,  married  Bertha  Shilts  and  they 
have  three  children,  Ethel,  Margaret  and  Clara.  Clara  j\I.  is  the  wife  of  F. 
G.  Ruff,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin,  and  has  a  daughter,  Helen.  Edwin  A. 
is  a  student  in  the  State  University  at  Champaign.  Walter  C.  is  attending 
school  in  Melvin. 

In  pc^lities  i\Ir.  lehl  has  been  a  stalwart  republican  since  casting  his  first 
presidential  vote  for  Lincoln  in  1864.  He  has  the  notable  and  creditable 
record  of  serving  as  supervisor  of  Peach  Orchard  township  for  twenty-two 
years,  having  been  a  member  of  the  board  longer  than  any  other  supervisor 
during  the  history  of  the  township.  He  w'as  also  village  trustee  for  six  years 
and  in  discharging  his  official  duties  is  prompt,  energetic  and  loyal,  doing 
everything  in  his  power  to  promote  the  public  service.  He  attends  the  Ger- 
man Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  is  a  man  whom  to  know  is  to  respect  and 
honor.  His  life  proves  conclusively  that  difficulties  luay  be  overcome  by  deter- 
mined purpose  and  that  the  individual  may  secure  success  if  he  has  but  the  will 
to  dare  and  to  do.  II  is  methods  have  ever  been  such  as  will  bear  close 
scrutiny  and  no  higher  testimonial  of  his  worth  as  a  business  man  and  citizen 
can  be  given  than  is  manifest  in  the  genuine  respect  which  his  fellow  towns- 
men and  all  who  know  him  entertain  for  him. 


JOHN  H.  EMMINGER. 

It  seems  that  nature  purposes  that  man  shall  enjoy  a  period  of  rest  in  the 
evening  of  his  days.  In  the  morning  of  his  life  he  is  full  of  energy,  hope  and 
courage;  at  life's  noontide  his  labors  are  guided  by  the  sound  judgment  that  has 
come  to  him  through  observation  and  experience  and  if  he  persists  in  the  pursuit 
of  an  honorable  purpose  he  can  win  the  success  tliat  will  enal)lc  him  to  spend 
the  evening  of  life  without  recourse  to  further  labor.  Such  has  been  the  record 
of  John  II.  Einmiiiger,  of  Gibson  City,  now  a  rdircd  lailor  chTiving  his  income 
largely  from  invest meiils  in  land.  He  was  born  in  the  southern  part  of 
Germany,  July  14.  ls;51,  and  liis  father,  who  was  a  linen  weaver,  and  his  mother 
l)oth  died  in  that  part  of  the  country. 


HISTORY   OB^  FORD   COUNTY  361 

Mr.  Emminger  eontinnod  there  until  twenty  years  of  age,  when  he  left  liis 
native  land,  sailing  on  the  14th  of  March,  1853,  for  the  United  States.  The 
voyage  was  made  in  one  of  the  old-time  sailing  vessels  and  after  forty-two  days 
spent  on  the  Atlantic  he  reached  New  York  city  on  the  26th  of  April.  On  that 
day  the  Odd  Fellows  were  having  a  big  celebration  and  parade  and  Mr. 
Emminger  thought  it  the  grandest  sight  he  had  ever  witnessed  in  all  his  life. 
The  city  in  its  gala  day  decorations  made  a  great  impression  upon  him  and  from 
that  time  America  has  had  a  stronghold  upon  his  atfections  and  loyalty.  In  his 
native  country  Mr.  Emminger  had  learned  and  followed  the  tailor's  trade  and 
was  again  employed  in  that  way  in  New  York  city  until  the  fall  of  1853,  when 
he  made  his  way  westward  to  Chicago  and  Milwaukee.  Later  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  La  Salle,  Illinois,  where  he  served  as  foreman  in  a  tailor  establishment 
until  1861.  On  the  9th  of  June  of  that  year  he  removed  to  Davenport,  Iowa, 
where  he  remained  for  four  and  a  half  years,  or  through  the  period  of  the  Civil 
war,  acting  as  foreman  in  a  tailor  shop  there.  Subsequently  he  spent  two  and 
a  half  years  in  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  in  1867  returned  to  La  Salle,  Illinois,  where 
he  resided  until  1870,  when  he  opened  up  a  shop  of  his  own  in  Wenona,  Illinois, 
where  he  remained  for  four  and  a  half  years.  He  next  located  at  Pontiac, 
Illinois,  where  he  conducted  business  on  his  own  account  for  ten  and  a  half 
years,  and  then  came  to  Gibson  City  where  he  also  conducted  a  successful 
tailoring  business  for  some  time.  He  is  now  retired,  however,  and  depends 
upon  his  income  from  his  property  to  supply  him  with  the  necessities  and  com- 
forts of  life.  He  is  the  owner  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Drummer 
township  and  also  had  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  McLean  county,  which  he 
gave  to  his  children.  In  Kansas  he  has  invested  in  property,  having  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  in  Brown  county.  He  also  owns  a  good  residence  in  Gibson  City 
and  a  store  building,  which  is  now  rented  for  a  meat  market. 

In  1854  Mr.  Emminger  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Mary  C.  Riegs,  who  was  born 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1831,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Sophia  (Kugler)  Riegs,  the 
father,  a  truck  farmer  near  La  Salle,  Illinois,  where  he  located  in  1854  and  where 
he  resided  until  his  death.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emminger  were  born  four  sons 
and  four  daughters,  of  whom  two  sons  and  two  daughters  are  now  living,  and 
they  have  twelve  grandchildren.  Their  son  Albert  lives  upon  the  father's  farm 
two  miles  southwest  of  Gibson  City.  ,  , 

Mr.  Emminger  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  joining  the  lodge  at 
La  Salle,  Illinois,  in  1867,  while  since  1858  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Odd 
Fellows  Lodge  at  La  Salle.  His  political  allegiance  has  been  given  to  the  re- 
publican party  since  he  became  a  naturalized  American  citizen.       There  is  no 


362  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

native  son  of  the  United  States  more  loyal  to  her  welfare  and  her  interests,  for 
he  has  enjoyed  her  protection  and  has  found  here  the  opportunities  for  the  at- 
tainment of  success.  When  he  arrived  in  America  he  had  but  twent^^-five  cents, 
but  gradually  he  has  worked  his  way  up\vard  and  his  diligence  and  persever- 
ance have  brought  him  a  goodly  measure  of  prosperity  and  at  the  same  time 
the  methods  which  he  has  followed  in  the  business  world  have  made  his  an 
honored  name. 


JOHN  McKINNEY. 

John  MeKinney,  senior  partner  of  the  John  IMcKinney  &  Son  Company, 
has  been  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  in  Piper  City  for  more  than  a  half  cen- 
tury and  has  carried  on  business  on  his  own  account  since  1859.  In  his  under- 
takings he  has  prospered  by  reason  of  his  intelligent  and  well  directed  effort, 
his  unremitting  industry  and  perseverance,  being  now  one  of  the  substantial 
residents  of  Ford  county.  He  was  born  near  Belfast  in  Cookstown,  Ireland, 
in  1833,  his  parents  being  Archibald  and  Elizabeth  (MeKinney)  MeKinney, 
wlio,  though  of  the  same  name,  were  not  relatives.  With  their  family  they 
came  to  America  in  1847  and  resided  in  Philadelphia  until  1857,  when  they 
came  to  Ford  county.  There  the  father  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  until 
1888,  when  ^vith  his  wife  he  removed  to  Piper  City,  where  they  lived  until 
called  to  their  final  rest.  The  father  reached  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three 
years,  while  the  mother  was  eighty-two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  death 
and  during  the  last  fifteen  years  of  her  life  was  blind.  In  their  family  were 
five  children,  of  whom  John  is  the  eldest.  Rachel  is  the  widow  of  Captain 
Perry  of  Philadelphia,  and  has  one  son,  Joseph.  JMrs.  JMargaret  IMcLaugh- 
lin,  a  widow,  is  living  in  Piper  City  with  her  sister,  INIrs.  Perry.  AVilliam 
died  in  1880,  and  Joseph  in  1883. 

John  MeKinney  spent  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  life  in  the  land  of  his 
nativity  and  then  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Philadelphia  with  his  mother,  three 
brothers  and  two  sisters.  In  this  land  they  joined  the  father,  who  had  pre- 
ceded them  to  the  new  world.  The  voyage  was  made  in  1847  as  passengers 
on  a  sailing  ship  which  was  six  weeks  in  covering  the  distance  between  the 
European  and  the  American  harbors.  On  the  trip  over  a  brother  and  sister 
died,  the  sister  being  buried  at  sea  and  the  brother  on  Staten  Island.  The 
family  lost  all  their  baggage  after  reaching  New  York.  John  MeKinney 
remained  in  Philadelphia  for  about  ten  years  and  for  two  or  three  years  spent 


JOHN   McKINNEY 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  365 

a  part  of  the  time  iu  school.  Duriug  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Phikdel- 
phia  he  served  a  five  years'  apprenticeship  to  the-  carpenter's  trade,  becoming 
an  expert  workman  during  that  period.  In  1856  he  made  his  way  westward 
to  Chicago  with  his  father  and  later  both  came  to  Ford  county  and  purchased 
a  tract  of  land  three  miles  south  and  a  half  mile  west  of  what  is  now  Piper 
City.  For  three  years  after  arriving  in  Ford  county  John  IMcKinney  worked 
at  his  trade  in  Chicago  and  on  the  road  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany. He  then  began  to  build  houses  for  the  first  settlers  at  Piper  City  and 
this  viciuit}',  for  it  was  during  the  period  of  pioneer  development  here  and  it 
was  necessary  that  the  early  inhabitants  should  build  homes  for  themselves. 
Mr.  IMcKinney  was  thus  employed  at  contracting  and  building  until  I860, 
when  he  took  the  management  of  a  lumberyard  for  the  firm  of  Piper  &  Montel- 
ius.  He  continued  in  business  in  that  way  until  the  fall  of  1869,  when  he 
bought  out  his  employers  and  has  since  continued  in  the  lumber  trade  without 
intermission.  This  is  the  only  lumberyard  in  the  city  and  the  business  has 
grown  to  extensive  and  profitable  proportions.  In  1872  he  further  extended 
the  scope  of  his  trade  by  establishing  a  hardware  department,  while  later  he 
opened  a  furniture  and  undertaking  establishment,  thus  his  business  growing 
in  volume  and  importance  until  it  has  long  since  been  considered  one  of  the 
leading  commercial  industries  of  the  village.  In  1870  Mr.  McKinney  admitted 
his  brother  William  to  a  partnership  under  the  firm  style  of  John  i\IcKinney 
&  Brother,  a  relation  that  was  maintained  until  the  death  of  the  junior  part- 
ner in  1880.  Mr.  IMcKinney  was  afterward  alone  in  buisness  for  thirteen 
years,  when  he  admitted  his  son,  AV.  0.  McKinney,  under  the  firm  name  of  John 
McKinney  &  Son.  Later  they  organized  a  stock  company,  holding  all  of  the 
stock  themselves  with  the  exception  of  about  three  thousand  dollars,  to  which 
extent  II.  G.  Flessner  is  interested.  The  business  is  now  carried  on  under 
the  firm  style  of  the  John  IMcKinney  &  Son  Company.  The  son  and  ]Mr. 
Flessner  have  active  management  of  the  business,  while  the  father  gives  his 
attention  largely  to  the  management  of  his  real-estate  interests.  They  also 
have  a  branch  store  and  lumberyard  at  La  Hogue,  where  they  have  operated 
for  seven  or  eight  years. 

In  1865  Mr.  IMcKinney  was  married  to  IMiss  Fredericka  Walrich,  who  was 
born  in  Germany  in  1846  and  came  to  Illinois  with  her  parents  about  1857. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Otto  and  IMargaret  (Hempken)  Walrich  and  by  her  mar- 
riage has  become  the  mother  of  six  children :  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Rev.  A. 
S.  Hoskins,  a  minister  of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  church  in  Chicago  for  the 
past  nine  years,  now  located  at  the  Irving  Park  church;  William  0.,  who  is  his 


366  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

father's  partner  in  business;  IMar^aret  W.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years; 
Kate  ]\Iontelins,  the  wife  of  J.  A.  Johnston,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina; 
Jeane  IM.,  who  died  in  1896  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years;  and  Emily  F.,  the 
wife  of  John  A.  Montelius,  Jr.,  of  Piper  City.  Jeane  M.  McKinney  was  in 
the  fifth  year  of  the  Northwestern  University  at  Evanston,  Illinois,  at  the 
time  of  her  death,  pursuing  a  literary  course. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  McKinney  is  a  republican  where  national  ques- 
tions and  issues  are  involved  but  at  local  elections  does  not  consider  himself 
bound  by  party  ties.  In  early  days  he  served  as  collector  of  his  township 
and  was  also  school  officer.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Presbj^terian 
church  of  Piper  City  and  one  of  its  trustees.  His  interest  in  community 
affairs  is  deep  and  sincere  and  his  cooperation  can  always  be  counted  upon 
to  further  any  progressive  public  movement.  He  has  made  a  splendid  record 
as  a  business  man,  for  he  started  out  in  life  empty-handed,  realizing,  however, 
that  labor  is  the  basis  of  all  honorable  success.  He  has  worked  diligently  and 
persistently  and  his  close  application  and  stalwart  purpose  find  tangible  evi- 
dence in  the  substantial  success  which  he  is  now  enjoying  and  which  has  made 
him  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Ford  county  for  many  years. 


CHARLES  F.  HELMAN. 

Charles  F.  Helman,  who  is  now  serving  for  the  eighth  year  as  county 
surveyor  of  Ford  county,  and  is  a  resident  of  Paxton,  was  l)orn  in  the  city  of 
Jonkoping,  Sw^eden,  November  21,  1862.  He  acquired  his  education  in  the 
government  schools  of  his  native  country  and  was  graduated  at  Stockholm  oii 
the  completion  of  a  course  in  technology.  He  afterwards  engaged  in  surveying 
for  the  government,  spending  four  years  in  that  way  in  the  extreme  north  of 
Lapland.  This  is  the  district  of  the  midnight  sun,  when  during  six  mouths 
of  the  year  one  can  see  to  read  for  only  about  an  hou)'  per  day.  During 
several  months  the  night  is  very  short  and  in  May,  June  and  tlie  greater  part 
of  July  the  sun  is  to  be  seen  almost  any  time  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  Dur- 
ing two  years  Mr.  Helman  was  iu  the  employ  of  private  corporations  in  cjinal 
and  drainage  work.  Thinking  to  find  a  still  more  profitable  field  of  labor 
in  the  new  world,  he  came  to  America  in  1893  and  settled  at  Rantoul  in  Cham- 
paign county,  where  he  remained  for  two  years.  In  1895  he  came  to  Ford 
county  and  engaged  in  various  occupations.       In  1900  he  was  elected  county 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  367 

sui'vc'3'or,  since  which  time  he  has  been  reelected  and  is  now  serving  for  the 
eighth  year.  His  excellent  university  training  and  his  broad,  practical  expe- 
rience well  qualify  him  for  the  able  discharge  of  the  duties  of  this  position,  and 
he  has  made  a  most  creditable  record  in  office.  Since  1900  he  has  been 
appointed  continuously  as  city  surveyor  of  Paxton  under  both  democratic  and 
republican  administrations. 

On  the  2d  of  September,  1896,  Mr.  Helman  was  married  in  Paxton,  to 
Miss  Matilda  Johnson,  a  daughter  of  August  and  Mary  J.,  who  were  natives 
of  Sweden  and  came  to  America  in  1867.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Helman  now  have 
four  children,  Edna,  Hertha,  Carl  and  Lillian.  The  parents  are  members 
of  the  Swedish  Lutheran  church  and  are  highly  esteemed  socially,  the  hospital- 
ity of  the  best  homes  being  freely  accorded  them.  Mr.  Helman  has  always 
voted  with  the  republican  party  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  politics, 
strongly  desiring  the  adoption  of  the  principles  which  he  believes  are  most  con- 
ducive to  good  government.  As  a  citizen  he  is  progressive  and  loyal  and 
withholds  his  aid  and  cooperation  from  no  movement  calculated  to  benefit  the 
community  and  in  fact  his  labors  have  been  effective  in  increasing  its  wealth 
and  standing  among  the  counties  of  his  adopted  state.  He  has  had  no  occa- 
sion to  regret  his  determination  to  seek  a  home  in  America,  for  here  he  has 
not  only  found  creditable  success  in  professional  lines  but  has  also  gained  a 
good  home  and  the  high  regard  of  many  friends. 


JOHN  WEAOrAN. 

John  AVeakman  is  the  owner  of  a  well  improved  farm  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  on  section  15,  Pella  township.  He  has  brought  this  prop- 
erty under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  cattle, 
horses  and  hogs.  He  was  born  in  Germany  in  July,  18-47,  his  parents  being 
Louis  and  Ellen  Weakman,  who  in  1848  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  w^orld, 
first  settling  in  St.  Louis,  ]\Iissouri.  Later  they  removed  to  IMenard  county, 
Illinois,  where  the  father  followed  farming  until  his  death.  In  their  family 
were  six  children,  of  whom  four  are  yet  living:  Molly,  the  wife  of  Joe 
Whipple,  of  Oklahonui;  Tina,  the  wife  of  August  Onken,  of  Gibson  City; 
Emma,  who  became  the  wife  of  George  McNabana  and  also  makes  her  home 
in  Gibson  City;  and  John,  of  this  review. 


368  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

During  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  yonth  John  Weakman  aided  his  father 
in  the  work  of  the  home  farm  and  in  the  common  schools  acquired  his  educa- 
tion. On  attaining  his  majority  he  rented  hind  and  thus  carried  on  farming 
on  his  own  account  for  fifteen  years,  during  which  lime  he  saved  his  earnings 
until  his  capital  was  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  purchase  a  farm  of  his  own. 
He  then  invested  in  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  on  section  15, 
Pella  township,  and  has  since  given  his  time  and  energies  to  the  further  devel- 
opment and  improvement  of  this  place.  The  fields  are  well  tilled  and  1)ring 
forth  rich  crops  and  he  is  also  engaged  in  raising  cattle,  horses  and  hogs.  His 
farm  work  is  carefully  conducted  and  the  systematic  management  of  his  busi- 
ness makes  him  one  of  the  successful  agriculturists  of  the  community. 

]\rr.  Weakman  has  been  married  twice.  He  first  wedded  IMiss  Laura 
Follick,  who  was  born  in  McLean  county,  Illinois,  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  three  children :  Benjamin,  living  near  Gibson  City ;  Hattie,  the  wife 
of  Ed  Dunman  of  this  country;  and  Marion,  who  is  with  his  grandfather.  For 
his  second  wife  JMr.  Weakman  chose  ]\Iiss  Gusta  Cales,  who  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia. The  children  of  this  marriage  are  nine  in  number :  Myrtle,  the  wife 
of  Taylor  Henry,  of  Illinois;  James;  Frank,  Bernie,  deceased;  Pearl;  John; 
Ruth;  Fred;  and  Howard. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Weakman  is  a  stalwart  republican  and  for 
thirty  years  has  served  as  school  director,  the  cause  of  education  finding  in 
him  a  warm  friend.  Otherwise  he  has  never  sought  nor  held  public  office, 
yet  in  matters  of  citizenship  is  progressive  and  gives  loyal  support  to  many 
measures  for  the  public  good.  He  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  of  Pella  township  and  among  those  with  whom  he  has  come  in  c<ui- 
tact  he  has  gained  many  friends.  The  success  that  he  has  achieved  has  come 
to  him  as  the  merited  reward  of  his  own  labor,  as  he  has  ever  placed  his 
dependence  upon  the  substantial  qualities  of  diligence  and  thrift. 


JAMES  IMcBRIDE. 

Although  James  McBride  had  a  cash  capital  of  but  eight  Inuuh-i'd  and 
fifty  dollars  when  he  arrived  in  Illinois,  he  is  today  one  of  the  largest  tax- 
payers in  Brenton  township  and  his  prosperous  career  should  serve  as  a  source 
of  inspiration  and  encouragement  to  others,  showing  what  may  be  accomplished 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  369 

through  business  enterprise,  unfaltering  perseverance  and  strong  determina- 
tion for  upon  those  qualities  he  has  builded  his  success. 

A  native  of  Ireland,  Mr.  IMcBride  was  born  January  12,  1842,  his  parents 
being  Ro])ert  and  Ruth  (Kirker)  MeBride.  They  came  to  America  in  384-1 
and  first  located  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  upon  a  farm.  The  father  died 
in  1861  and  the  mother  in  1858.  In  their  family  were  seven  children,  of 
whom  five  are  now  living,  as  follows:  Gilbert  K.,  who  resides  in  this  county; 
John  B.,  living  in  Paw  Paw,  Illinois;  R.  A.,  whose  home  is  in  La  Salle  county, 
this  state;  N.  A.,  of  New  York  city;  and  James,  of  this  review. 

James  McBride  was  but  two  j^ears  of  age  when  brought  by  his  parents  to 
America  and  upon  the  home  farm  in  Ohio  he  was  reared,  early  becoming  famil- 
iar Avith  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist. 
He  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war  in  1862,  when  a  young  man  of  twenty 
years,  and  served  for  three  years  in  defense  of  the  Union,  participating  in  all 
of  the  experiences  of  camp  life.  He  marched  with  Sherman  to  the  sea  and 
participated  in  many  important  battles.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Ohio 
and  in  the  fall  of  1865  came  to  LaSalle  county,  Illinois,  where  he  lived  for 
three  years,  afterward  removing  to  Livingston  county,  this  state.  Having 
carefully  saved  his  earnings  in  the  meantime,  he  now  made  an  investment  in 
property,  purchasing  eighty  acres,  which  he  cultivated  and  improved,  bring- 
ing his  farm  into  a  high  state  of  fertility. 

In  1869  Mr.  McBride  was  married  to  Miss  Clarilda  Strank,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio  and  was  one  of  two  children.  Following  their  marriage  they  began 
their  domestic  life  upon  their  farm  in  Livingston  county,  where  they  remained 
for  ten  years.  Mr.  McBride  then  traded  his  property  for  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  land  on  section  31,  Brenton  township.  Ford  county,  whereon  he 
resided  until  1892.  From  time  to  time  he  added  more  land  and  when  he 
retired  and  removed  to  Piper  City  he  was  the  owner  of  eight  hundred  and 
ninety  acres,  all  in  the  panhandle  of  the  county.  Since  this  he  has  sold  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  and  he  still  owns  five  hundred  and  seventy  acres. 
He  has  always  made  a  specialty  of  buying,  raising,  feeding  and  selling  stock, 
and  his  business  transactions  of  this  character  have  returned  him  a  good 
profit.  The  farming  interests  are  valuable  and  bring  to  him  an  excellent  finan- 
cial return  annually.  In  all  of  his  business  investments  he  has  shown  good 
judgment  and  is  today  a  prosperous  citizen  as  the  result  of  well  directed 
industry. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McBride  was  blessed  with  four  children :  Celes- 
tia  May,  now  the  wife  of  H.  M.  Hawthorne,  living  on  a  farm  in  this  county; 


370  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Sarah  A.,  who  is  the  widow  of  William  Davis  and  is  now  acting  as  her  father's 
housekeeper;  and  Jesse  W.  and  Orville  F.,  both  deceased.  Mrs.  Davis  has 
one  son,  Henry  James  Davis,  who  is  now  attending'  the  Piper  City  high  school. 
Mrs.  McBride  died  in  1890,  leaving  her  husliand  and  three  children  to  mourn 
her  death,  while  many  friends  also  deph)red  her  loss  for  she  displayed  many 
sterling  traits  of  character  that  endeared  her  to  those  with  whom  she  came 
in  contact.  In  September,  1894,  IMr.  IMcBride  married  Elizal)eth  AVoods,  a 
native  of  Belmont  county,  Ohio. 

Mr.  JMcBride  was  a  democrat  until  1896,  when  he  voted  for  William 
McKinley,  since  which  time  he  has  deposited  his  ballot  in  support  of  republi- 
can principles.  He  has  held  several  township  offices  and  has  served  as  school 
director  for  twenty  years,  the  cause  of  education  finding  in  him  a  stalwart 
champion.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  holding  membership  in 
the  lodge  at  Piper  City,  and  to  St.  Paul  Commandery,  K.  T.,  at  Fairbury, 
Illinois.  He  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  principles  and  tenets  of  the 
craft,  wdiich  is  based  upon  mutual  kindliness  and  brotherly  love.  He  attends 
and  supi^orts  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to 
the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  the  town  and  county.  He  is  now  president 
of  the  Piper  City  Fair  and  Driving  Association  and  is  one  of  the  best  known 
residents  of  Ford  county,  having  made  a  creditable  record  as  a  business  man 
and  citizen.  He  has  prospered,  not  because  of  any  assistance  which  he 
received  at  the  outset  of  his  career  or  from  any  influence  that  has  been  exerted 
in  his  behalf,  but  because  he  has  labored  diligently  and  untiringly,  recognizing 
the  fact  that  earnest  effort  is  the  basis  of  all  business  advancement. 


A.  L.  CHERRY. 


A.  L.  Cherry  is  now  living  a  retired  life  on  his  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  located  (m  section  9,  Patton  township.  He  is  a  native  of  the 
Buckeye  state,  his  l)irth  having  occurred  in  Greene  county,  on  the  DJth  of 
December,  1832.  His  parents,  James  and  Elizabeth  (Greenwood)  Cherry, 
were  natives  of  Virginia  and  at  an  early  day  took  up  their  abode  in  Ohio,  where 
the  father  purchased  land  and  there  reared  his  family  of  eleven  children,  of 
whom  only  two  now  survive,  the  brother  of  our  subject  being  David,  a  resi- 
dent of  Ohio. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  373 

A.  L.  Cherry  acquired  liis  edueatiou  in  the  schools  of  his  native  state  and 
remained  under  tlie  parental  roof  until  lie  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty 
years.  He  then  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followd  for  seven 
years.  Believing,  however,  that  he  would  more  readily  acquire  a  competence 
in  other  pursuits  in  the  west,  he  then  made  his  way  to  INIoultrie  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  operated  a  tract  of  land  which  he  rented,  for  two  years,  and  he 
also  spent  three  years  in  Washington,  Iowa.  In  1862  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Ford  county,  purchasing  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  situated  on  section  9,  Patton 
township,  to  which  he  later  added  an  additional  eighty-acre  tract,  so  that  his 
place  now  embraces  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  He  has  erected  all  of  the 
buildings  which  are  here  seen  today  and  added  to  the  productiveness  of  his 
fields  by  the  liberal  use  of  tiling,  so  that  his  farm  is  now  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  For  many  years  he  was  actively  identified  with  the  work  of  the 
farm  luit  owing  to  his  well  directed  labors  and  careful  management  he  acquired 
a  competence  that  now  enables  him  to  spend  the  evening  of  his  life  in  hon- 
orable retirement. 

Mr.  Cherry  has  been  twice  married,  his  first  union  being  with  Miss  Martha 
Davis,  by  whom  he  had  four  children  but  two  of  the  number  are  now  deceased, 
the  surviving  daughters  being:  Laura,  who  resides  in  Paxton ;  and  Etta, 
the  widow  of  Samuel  Strong,  a  resident  of  Ford  county.  The  wife  and  mother 
passed  away  in  1870,  and  three  years  later  Mr.  Cherry  was  married  again,  his 
second  union  being  with  Margaret  Archer,  who  was  born  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1835.  She  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  Washington, 
Pennsylvania,  and  for  eight  years  prior  to  her  marriage  was  successfully 
engaged  in  teaching.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Cherry  were  natives  of  Virginia 
and  of  Pennsylvania  respectively,  and  she  is  one  of  a  family  of  thirteen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  only  three  survive,  her  sisters  being:  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Charles 
Ross,  of  Crawford  county,  Illinois ;  and  Charlotte,  the  widow  of  Jonathan 
Raney,  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  Cherry  has  always  given  his  support  to  the  republican  party  and  aside 
from  serving  as  school  director  for  several  years  has  filled  no  public  office, 
his  time  and  attention  during  his  active  business  career  having  been  fully  occu- 
pied with  his  private  business  affairs.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  consistent 
members  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  at  Paxton.  He  has  lived  in  Ford 
county  for  more  than  four  decades  and  during  that  time  has  witnessed  many 
changes  as  pioneer  conditions  have  given  way  to  more  modern  methods  in 
various  lines.  His  acquaintance  is  wide  and  no  man  of  this  section  of  the 
state  enjoys  in  larger  degree  the  esteem  and  high  regard  of  his  neighbors  and 


374  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

friends.       He  has  now  reached  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-five  years  and  his 
persistent  labor  in  former  years  now  enables  him  to  enjoy  in  retirement  the        I 
accumulations   of  a  profitable,   successful   and  honorable   career,   while   in   the 
companionship  of  his  estimable  wife  he  takes  great  delight. 


A.  W.  BARROW. 


A.  AV.  Barrow,  a  farmer  and  one  of  the  early  citizens  of  Ford  county,  now 
living  in  Gibson  City,  has  by  well  directed  labor  gained  enviable  success.  As 
he  has  prospered  judicious  investments  have  been  made  in  property  until  he 
is  now  the  owner  of  several  good  farms  in  Ford  county.  Although  he  is 
now  practically  living  retired,  he  yet  buys  and  sells  stock  and  for  a  time  con- 
ducted a  grain  business  at  Elliott,  while  he  makes  his  home  in  Gibson  City. 

]\rr.  Barrow  is  the  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Smith)  Barrow,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  who  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural 
pursuits  and  school  teaching.  A.  W.  Barrow  was  born  near  Winchester,  Vir- 
ginia, and  there  began  his  education,  but  when  a  young  boy  he  accompanied 
his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Bloomington,  Illinois,  in  1865.  His  father  pur- 
chased land  east  of  Gibson  City  and  the  son  attended  the  Scotland  school  on 
the  prairie.  When  not  busy  with  his  text-books  he  worked  on  his  father's 
farm,  comprising  four  hundred  acres  of  rich  farming  land. 

After  attaining  his  majority  A.  W.  Barrow  was  united  in  marriage  to  Aliss 
Florence  Richardson,  a  daughter  of  John  Richardson,  a  grain  dealer  of  Elliott, 
who  retired  in  1879.  ]\Tr.  and  Mrs.  Barrow  now  have  one  son  and  one  daugh- 
ter. The  parents  are  mem])ers  of  the  First  Methodist  churt-h  at  Gibson  City. 
For  a  considerable  period  IMr.  Barrow  gave  his  undivided  time  and  attention 
to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  was  very  successful.  He  became  the 
owner  of  several  good  farms  devoting  them  to  the  cultivation  of  the  cereals 
best  adapted  to  soil  and  cliniate.  He  also  dealt  in  live  stock  and  although 
lie  is  now  practically  I'dircd.  he  still  buys  and  sells  stock  and  derives  from  this 
business  a  good  income.  He  is  also  a  grain  dealer  at  Elliott  but  he  rents 
the  greater  jiart  of  bis  land,  the  remainder  being  devoted  to  corn  and  oats 
and  to  pasturage.  He  has  a  fine  home  in  Gibson  City  and  the  family  are 
prominent  in  social  life  h(>re. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Barrow  is  a  democrat,  in  thorough  sympathy 
with  the  principles  of  the  party,  bnt   he  has  never  sought  nor  desired  office, 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  375 

preferring  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  his  l)usiness  affairs.  Thus  he 
gained  the  prosperity  which  he  now  enjoys  and  which  enables  him  largely  to 
live  retired.  In  manner  he  is  genial  and  jovial  and  his  many  good  traits  of 
character  have  gained  him  the  confidence,  good  will  and  friendship  of  those 
with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 


SAMUEL  CLARK. 

Samuel  Clark,  who  was  a  well  kno^^^l  resident  of  Ford  county,  his  home 
being  in  Brenton  township,  belonged  to  that  class  of  representative  American 
citizens  who,  though  of  foreign  birth,  are  always  loyal  to  the  interests  of  their 
adopted  land  and  in  their  home  localities  contribute  in  large  measure  to  sub- 
stantial development  and  improvement.  Moreover,  Mr.  Clark  was  one  who 
owed  his  success  entirely  to  his  well  directed  labors,  for  he  started  out  in  life 
empty-handed. 

He  was  born  near  Londonderry,  Ireland,  IMay  20,  1825,  and  when  a  small 
boy  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Canada  with  his  parents,  John  and  Martha  (Wells) 
Clark,  both  of  whom  died  in  Ohio.  In  their  family  were  six  sons  and  three 
daughters.  The  family  remained  in  Canada  for  only  about  two  years  and 
then  went  to  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  whence  they  afterward  removed 
to  Guernsey  county,  Ohio.  Samuel  Clark  was  a  youth  in  his  teens  at  that 
time  and  he  remained  upon  the  home  farm  with  his  parents  up  to  the  time  of 
his  marriage,  early  becoming  familiar  with  all  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall 
to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  He  gained  practical  knowledge  of  the  best 
methods  of  tilling  the  soil  and  caring  for  the  crops  and  was  thus  well  qualified 
to  engage  in  farming  on  his  own  account  when  he  married  and  established  a 
home  of  his  own. 

He  continued  a  resident  of  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  until  his  removal  to 
Chenoa,  Livingston  county,  Illinois,  where  he  resided  for  about  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  took  up  his  abode  upon  a  farm 
on  section  22,  Brenton  township,  which  was  his  place  of  abode  for  seventeen 
years  or  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  16th  of  January,  1905,  when 
he  had  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty  years.  Throughout  his  entire  life 
he  gave  his  time  and  energies  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  owned  a 
farm  in  Ohio  and  in  Livingston  county  as  well  as  his  home  property  in  Bren- 
ton township.       In  1890  he  purchased  the  place  upon  which  his  widow  yet 


376  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

resides,  securing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  22  and  also  another 
tract  of  eighty  acres.  His  care  and  diligence  brought  his  fields  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation  and  he  annually  gathered  good  harvests.  Year  after 
year  he  prospered,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  leave  his  family  in  comfortable 
financial  circumstances. 

]\Ir.  Clark  was  married  in  1853  to  INIiss  Jane  IMorrow,  who  was  born 
December  12,  1828,  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  William  and 
Martha  (Atchison)  ]\Iorrow,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
former  born  in  Westmoreland  county  and  the  latter  in  Washington  county. 
They  entered  land  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  and  there  developed  a  new  farm. 
Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  were  born  eight  children :  David,  who  is  now  operating 
the  home  farm;  IMartha,  the  wife  of  Spencer  McCreight,  of  Aledo,  Illinois; 
]\Ialinda,  the  wife  of  W.  J.  Hester,  of  Chenoa,  this  state;  John  A.,  whose  home 
is  in  Stanton,  Nebraska ;  William  ]\I.,  a  resident  of  Rantoul,  Illinois ;  Anna 
Jane,  at  home;  Mathew,  also  of  Rantoul;  and  Harriett,  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Simpson,  of  Iowa. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Clark  was  a  democrat  but  manifested  only  a 
citizen's  interest  in  the  political  cpiestions,  never  seeking  nor  desiring  office. 
He  held  membership  in  the  United  Presbyterian  church  and  his  life  was  an 
honorable  and  upright  one,  gaining  for  him  the  respect  and  good  will  of  those 
with  whom  he  was  associated.  He  reached  the  eightieth  milestone  on  life's 
journey  and  his  record  was  characterized  by  all  that  is  commendable  in  man's 
relations  witJi  his  feHowmen.  He  provided  well  for  his  family  and  lived  a 
life  of  honesty  as  well  as  industry,  so  that  he  left  to  his  children  a  good  name. 
]\Irs.  Clark  still  survives  her  husl)and  and  is  now  living  on  the  old  home  farm 
on  section  22,  Brenton  township.  She  is  widely  known  in  this  part  of  the 
county,  where  she  has  many  friends. 


ALBP]RT  JUICIIHOLZ. 

Albert  Bucliholz  is  the  village  president  of  INIelvin  and  a  citizen  whose 
devotion  to  the  general  good  is  a1)()V('  (juestion.  lie  is  well  known  here  and 
the  public  regard  in  wliich  he  is  held  results  from  a  long  acquaintance  with 
him  and  familiarity  with  the  creditable  principles  which  have  governed  his  life 
in  its  various  relations.       He  was  formerly  extensively  engaged  in  the  grain 


z 


X 

N 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  379 

trade,  owning  a  large  elevator  at  Melvin,  and  liis  success  enables  him  to  now 
enjoy  well  earned  rest  from  further  labor. 

Illinois  may  be  proud  to  number  such  a  man  among  her  native  sons.  His 
birth  occurred  near  Magnolia,  IMarshall  county,  March  3,  1860,  his  parents 
being  August  and  Caroline  (Funte)  Buchholz,  the  former  born  in  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, August  14,  1821,  .and  the  latter  in  Westphalia  in  November,  1834.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  about  1849  and  were  married  in  Chicago.  The 
father  worked  first  on  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and 
afterward  followed  shoemaking  in  Magnolia,  having  learned  that  trade  in  the 
old  country.  During  the  remainder  of  his  active  life  he  was  identified  with 
farming  interests  and  he  is  still  the  owner  of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
of  rich  and  valuable  land  around  the  town.  He  also  owns  several  sections  of 
land  in  Iowa  and  ]\Iinnesota,  which  he  gave  to  his  children.  He  has  been 
very  prosperous  and  this  is  due  entirely  to  his  unremitting  diligence  and  lal)or 
intelligently  applied.  As  the  years  have  passed  he  has  made  the  most  of  his 
opportunities  and  certainly  deserves  great  credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished. 
He  now  resides  at  Oakland,  California,  with  his  oldest  son,  Charles,  having 
there  made  his  home  for  three  years.  His  wife  died  upon  a  farm  south  of 
Melvin,  August  11,  1890.  Their  eldest  child,  Charles  Buchholz,  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Des  Moines  School  of  Osteopathy,  as  is  his  wife,  and  both  are  practicing 
in  Oakland.  Albert  is  the  second  of  the  famil}^  William,  of  IMelvin,  is  inter- 
ested with  his  brother  Frank  in  a  cotton  plantation  of  about  eighteen  hundred 
acres  in  Mississippi.  Amandus  follows  general  merchandising  in  IMelvin. 
Frank  has  resided  upon  the  home  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in 
Peach  Orchard  township  since  the  father  removed  to  California  and,  as  stated, 
is  a  partner  of  his  brother  William  in  their  cotton  interests  in  the  south.  Emma 
is  with  her  father  at  Oakland,  California.  Laura  is  a  teacher  of  physical 
culture  in  Boston,  ]\Iassachusetts.  Mabel  is  the  wife  of  George  T.  Hersch,  a 
general  merchant  of  Melvin. 

Albert  Buchholz  spent  the  first  eight  years  of  his  life  in  his  native  county 
and  in  December,  1868,  came  with  his  parents  to  Ford  county,  the  family 
home  being  established  on  a  farm  adjoining  the  village  of  Melvin.  He  con- 
tinued with  his  parents  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage  and  ac(iuired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools.  During  the  periods  of  vacation  he  worked  in  the 
fields  and  thus  gained  practical  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  tilling  the 
soil  and  caring  for  the  crops.  When  he  attained  his  majority  he  began  farm- 
ing near  the  town  and  for  nine  years  continued  to  cultivate  land  belonging  to 
his  father.       In  November,  1890,  he  entered  the  grain  trade,  in  which  he  con- 


380  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

tinned  for  seventeen  years  or  until  July,  1907,  when  he  sold  out.  He  not  only 
dealt  in  grain  but  also  in  seeds,  coal  and  building  materials  and  built  up  a 
very  extensive  business.  He  wrought  along  modern  lines  of  business  activity, 
made  good  use  of  his  opportunities  and  as  the  years  passed  became  recognized 
as  one  of  the  foremost  representatives  of  the  grain  trade  in  Ford  county.  He 
built  in  Melvin  an  elevator  with  a  capacity  of  eighty  thousand  bushels  and 
later  sold  that  and  bought  another  elevator  in  Melvin  with  a  capacity  of  ninety 
thousand  bushels.  At  first  he  was  associated  with  his  brother  in  the  ownership 
of  the  latter  but  at  the  end  of  three  years  he  purchased  his  brother's  interest 
and  continued  the  business  alone  for  two  years  or  until  he  sold  out.  The 
annual  trade  reached  a  very  extensive  figure  and  throughout  this  part  of  the 
state  the  name  of  Buchholz  is  recognized  as  a  synonym  for  commercial  integ- 
rity and  honor. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1885,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Albert  Buchholz  and 
Miss  Elizabeth  Schueneman,  who  was  born  near  Magnolia,  Illinois,  December 
11,  1860,  and  when  five  years  of  age  went  to  Randolph  county,  INIissouri,  with 
her  parents,  August  and  Dorothy  Eliza  (Spellmyer)  Schueneman,  there  resid- 
ing until  her  marriage.  Both  her  father  and  mother  were  natives  of 
Westphalia,  Germany,  the  former  born  January  16,  1834,  and  the  latter  Decem- 
ber 5,  1837.  They  were  married  at  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  August  Buchholz 
in  Magnolia,  and  the  father  died  in  Missouri,  March  3,  1899,  while  the  mother 
is  still  living  upon  the  old  homestead  in  that  state.  Throughout  his  life  he 
followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and  thus  provided  for  his  family.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schueneman  were  bom  eight  children :  Mrs.  Buchholz ;  Kate, 
the  wife  of  John  Legendre,  of  Salisbury,  jMissouri ;  Emma,  the  wife  of  Louis 
Penn,  of  Los  Angeles,  California;  John  of  Moberly,  Missouri;  Ida,  the  wife  of 
John  Thomas,  a  farmer  of  Randolph  county,  INIissouri ;  Charles,  a  mason  of 
Melvin ;  Henry,  who  is  living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Randolph  county ;  and 
Dora,  the  wife  of  Rev.  George  Turner,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  preacher  of  Day, 
Missouri.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buchholz  have  been  born  six  children :  Roscoe 
C,  now  a  student  in  the  Champaign  University ;  Arthur  L.,  who  is  attending 
the  National  School  of  Telegraphy  at  Danville,  Illinois;  Ada  Lorana,  a  student 
in  the  Woman's  College  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois;  Ida  Beryl,  also  attending 
that  school;  and  Ruth  and  Ralph,  twins,  who  are  students  in  the  schools  of 
Melvin. 

Mr.  Buchholz  is  a  stalwart  republican  and  lias  been  called  to  several  pub- 
lic offices.  lie  has  been  school  director  for  three  or  four  terms  and  is  now 
president  of  the   village   of  Melvin.       He   has  likewise  been   assessor  of   the 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  381 

township  for  three  or  four  terms  and  is  serving  on  the  school  board  in  connec- 
tion with  his  duties  as  assessor  and  village  president.  No  trust  reposed  in 
him  has  ever  been  betrayed  in  the  slightest  degree.  On  the  contrary  he  is 
most  loyal  to  the  interests  of  town  and  county  and  his  labors  have  been  a  far- 
reaching  and  etfective  force  in  promoting  general  progress.  Socially  he  is 
connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  with  the  IModern  Woodmen  of 
America.  He  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  and  representative  families  of  this  part 
of  the  state  and  has  done  much  to  sustain  the  reputation  which  has  alwa3^s 
been  associated  with  the  name  of  Buchholz.  In  the  community  where  he  lives 
he  stands  as  a  man  among  men,  unostentatious  and  unassuming  and  yet 
respected  by  all  for  his  genuine  worth. 


HARM  HENRICHS. 

Harm  Henrichs  is  the  owner  of  an  excellent  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  which  has  doubled  in  price  since  it  came  into  his  possession,  owing 
largely  to  the  improvement  he  has  placed  upon  it  and  his  enterprising  efforts 
in  its  cultivation.  He  v/as  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  August  6,  IS^ri,  his 
parents  being  Oldig  and  Elsie  (Siebelts)  Henrichs.  The  father  was  a  farmer 
in  Germany  and  in  the  family  there  were  three  sons:  INIalchert,  who  is  now 
cultivating  the  old  home  farm;  Harm,  of  this  review;  and  Detert,  also  of 
Hanover. 

Harm  Henrichs  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
countr}',  where  he  remained  until  thirty-two  years  of  age.  He  came  to 
America  in  the  spring  of  1886,  settling  first  in  Paxton,  Illinois,  and  for  one 
3^ear  he  worked  on  the  farm  of  his  brother-in-law.  In  1887  he  removed  to 
Ford  township,  where  he  rented  land  from  H.  Ashley,  cultivating  this  from 
1878  until  1901.  In  1900  he  purchased  his  present  property,  comprising  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Sullivant  township.  Some  improvements  had  been 
made  upon  it  but  he  has  further  carried  forward  the  work  of  development 
and  improvement  until  the  farm  for  which  he  paid  seventy-five  dollars  per 
acre  is  today  worth  twice  that  amount.  Everything  about  his  place  is  indic- 
ative of  his  careful  supervision  and  practical  methods.  He  has  studied  the 
conditions  of  the  soil  and  the  demands  of  plant  life  in  the  matter  of  food 
and  through  the  rotation  of  crops  he  keeps  the  soil  in  excellent  condition.     His 


382  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

life  has  l)eeu  oue  of  untiring-  industry  and  his  perseverance  has  resulted  in  his 
success. 

]\rr.  Ilenriehs  was  married  in  Germany  in  1883  to  Miss  Annie  Ilenriehs, 
who  though  of  tlie  same  name  was  not  a  relative.  Her  parents  were  Profes- 
sor Johann  and  Annie  (Cramer)  Henrichs.  The  father  came  first  to  America, 
landing  in  the  fall  of  ^S86,  and  in  October  of  the  same  year  Mrs.  Annie  Hen- 
richs also  came.  Their  family  numbered  five  children:  Elizabeth,  the  wiL'e 
of  C.  Brethorst,  of  Peoria,  Illinois ;  Henry,  who  resides  in  SuUivaut  township ; 
JMartha,  the  Avife  of  P.  Brethorst ;  John,  who  resides  in  Chariton  county,  i\Iis- 
souri ;  and  Annie,  now  JMrs.  Henrichs.  Professor  Henrichs  died  in  1899  and 
his  wife  passed  away  forty-eight  hours  before.  Both  died  in  Germany.  The 
father  of  our  subject,  however,  still  survives,  at  the  venerable  age  of  eighty- 
eight  years  but  the  mother  passed  away  in  1902,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harm  Henrichs  have  been  born  nine  children,  namely :  Otto, 
who  is  employed  in  the  Sibley  Bank;  Ella,  the  wife  of  William  Brucker,  a 
resident  of  Sullivant  township;  Elizabeth;  ^Margaret;  John;  Vena;  Herman; 
Mildred;  and  Arnold. 

The  parents  are  members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church  and  are  loyal 
to  its  teachings  and  their  professions.  The  record  which  ]\lr.  Henrichs  has 
made  in  the  business  world  is  a  creditable  one,  for  he  came  to  America  empty- 
handed,  his  substantial  qualities  of  energy  and  enterprise,  however,  constitut- 
ing an  excellent  foundation  ujjou  which  to  build  success  and  as  time  has  passed 
he  has  so  directed  his  labors  that  he  is  now  the  owner  of  an  excellent  farm 
returning  him  a  good  yearly  income. 


J.  II.  SNELLING. 


The  Prairie  Grove  Stock  Farm,  comprising  three  liundred  and  twenty 
acres,  situated  on  section  11.  Wall  townshi]),  is  a  fitting  monument  to  the  life 
of  thrift  and  energy  of  the  ])roprietor,  .1.  II.  Snelling.  He  is  here  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising,  having  for  the  past  twelve  years  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  the  breeding  and  raising  of  shorthorn  cattle.  Mr.  Snelling  is  a 
native  son  of  Illinois,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  La  Salle  county,  on  the 
2d  of  ]\larch,  1846,  a  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Shaver)  Snelling,  the  former 
a  native  of  West  Virginia,  while  the  birth  of  the  latter  occurred  in  Ohio. 
They   became   pioneer  settlers   of   La    Salle   county,   the  year   of   their   arrival 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  383 

there  being  1832,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the 
year  1888,  the  father  was  closely  identified  with  the  agricultural  interests  of 
that  section  of  the  state.  The  mother,  however,  is  still  living  and  yet  makes 
her  home  on  the  farm  in  La  Salle  county.  Although  she  has  reached  the 
very  advanced  age  of  eighty-six  years,  she  is  still  active  and  performs  the 
major  portion  of  her  h(msehold  duties.  Their  family  numbered  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows :  Nancy,  the  wife  of  Morris  Weaver,  of  Ford  county ;  Eliza- 
beth and  Olive,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased;  J.  II..  of  this  review;  David, 
who  resides  in  La  Salle  county;  and  George  R.  of  Coffeyville,  Kansas;  and 
Annis,  with  the  mother  in  La  Salle  county. 

J.  H.  Snelling  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  assisting  his  father  in 
the  operation  of  the  home  farm  during  the  summer  seasons,  while  in  the 
winter  months  he  pursued  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  He  later 
went  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  he  attended  a  business  college,  from  which  he 
was  graduated.  Following  his  graduation  he  returned  home  and  for  two 
years  assisted  his  father  in  the  operation  of  the  home  place.  He  then  accepted 
the  priucipalship  of  a  business  college  at  Galesburg,  Illinois,  which  position 
he  filled  for  two  years,  but  on  account  of  failing  health,  occasioned  by  indoor 
life,  he  was  compelled  to  resume  farming  operations,  and  again  returned  to 
Ford  county,  renting  the  homestead  property  for  four  years.  On  the  expira- 
tion of  that  period  he  purchased  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home,  this  place 
comprising  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  situated  on  section  11,  Wall  town- 
ship, Avhich  is  known  as  the  Prairie  Grove  Stock  Farm.  He  has  improved 
the  property  with  excellent  farm  buildings  for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock 
and  has  a  commodious  and  modern  country  residence,  so  that  the  place  in  its 
neat  and  attractive  appearance  constitutes  one  of  the  valuable  farm  proper- 
ties of  this  section  of  Ford  county.  He  is  here  engaged  in  raising  various 
cereals  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate,  while  in  his  pastures  are  seen  high 
grades  of  stock.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  breeding  and  raising  shorthorn 
cattle  and  this  branch  of  his  business  is  proving  a  gratifying  source  of  income 
to  him. 

Mr.  Snelling  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Frances  E.  Spradling,  the 
ceremony  being  performed  on  the  15th  of  September,  1872.  She  was  born 
in  La  Salle  county  in  1851,  and  is  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children.  Her 
parents  are  both  now  deceased,  the  mother  having  lived  to  the  advanced  age 
of  ninety  years.  The  two  sisters  of  Mrs.  Snelling  now  living  are :  Rachel, 
the  wife  of  George  Debolt,  a  resident  of  La  Salle  comity;  and  Elizabeth,  the 
wife  of  Eugene  Poller,  who  makes  her  home  in  Piano,  Illinois. 


384  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  SncUing  has  been  blessed  with  three  sons 
and  one  daughter:  Herman,  who  is  engaged  in  the  implement  business  at 
Paxton,  Illinois;  William  Roy,  at  home;  Blanch  E.,  who  is  with  her  parents; 
and  Jolm  F.,  who  is  still  nnder  the  parental  roof.  Mr.  Snelling  gives  his 
political  support  to  the  men  and  measures  of  the  democratic  party  and  at  one 
time  served  as  supervisor  of  Wall  township,  while  for  fourteen  years  he  acted 
as  school  treasurer.  Although  public-spirited  and  willing  to  aid  in  any  move- 
ment calculated  to  benefit  his  home  locality,  he  prefers  to  leave  office-holding 
to  others,  his  farming  and  stock-raising  interests  claiming  his  time  and  atten- 
tion. He  finds  his  greatest  social  enjoyment  at  his  own  fireside,  where  his 
family  and  intimate  friends  know  him  to  be  a  delightful  companion.  He  has 
worked  earnestlj^  and  persistently  in  the  acquirement  of  success  and  today  he 
feels  amply  repaid  for  the  effort  he  has  made  in  life,  for  the  Prairie  Grove 
Stock  Farm  is  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  valuable  properties  of  Ford  county. 


ALBERT  GILMORE. 

Among  those  who  are  classed  with  the  prominent  and  representative  men 
of  Ford  county  mention  should  be  made  of  Albert  Gilmore,  now  a  retired 
farmer  living  in  Gibson  City.  Coming  to  Illinois  during  the  pioneer  epoch 
in  the  history  of  this  county,  he  purchased  wild,  unbroken  prairie  land  at  a 
low  figure  and  has  profited  by  its  rise  in  value  until  he  is  one  of  the  wealthy 
men  of  this  part  of  the  state,  having  very  extensive  landed  possessions,  for  he 
has  placed  his  capital  in  the  safest  of  all  investments — real  estate.  He  was 
born  in  Harrison  county,  Ohio,  near  Cadiz,  on  the  26th  of  January,  1841,  and 
is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  jMary  (Craig)  Gilmore.  His  grandfathers  in  both 
the  paternal  and  maternal  lines  came  from  Ireland.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, Samuel  Gilmore,  was  born  in  County  Cavan,  Ireland,  and  on  coming  to 
America  located  in  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Buchanan,  a 
native  of  that  state,  and  they  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Harrison  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  located  in  1803,  there  residing  until  called  fnmi  this  life. 
They  made  their  way  westward  when  there  was  but  little  travel  across  the 
mountains  into  Ohio  and  more  remote  districts  known  as  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, and  they  aided  in  reclaiming  that  region  from  the  rule  of  the  savages 
and  converting  it  into  a  land  of  civilization.  Samuel  Gilmore  was  a  soldier 
of  the  war  of  1812  and  the  hard  service  and  exposure  of  army  life  so  under- 


ALBERT  GILMORE 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  387 

mined  his  health  that  lie  died  September  6,  1814,  only  four  days  after  his 
return  from  the  war.  In  his  family  were  seven  children,  six  of  whom  reached 
adult  age,  but  none  are  now  living. 

Nathanial  Gilmore,  the  father,  spent  his  boyhood  and  j'outh  in  Harrison 
county,  Ohio,  and  in  1827  gained  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey 
by  his  marriage  to  Mary  Craig,  the  daughter  of  John  Craig.  Twenty  years 
later  they  removed  to  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  where  Nathaniel  Gilmore  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising  for  five  years.  He  then  took  up  his  residence 
near  LeRoy  in  McLean  county,  Illinois,  in  1852,  but  was  not  long  permitted, 
to  enjoy  his  new  home,  as  he  died  November  5,  1855,  his  grave  being  made  in 
the  Gilmore  cemetery  on  the  old  homestead,  where  a  monument  marks  his  last 
resting  place.  His  wnfe  long  survived  him  and  ever  remained  true  to  his 
memory.  Her  death  occurred  December  21,  1884.  In  politics  Mr.  Gilmore 
was  a  democrat,  progressive  in  citizenship  and  successful  in  business,  accumu- 
lating a  handsome  estate.  His  family  numbered  twelve  children :  Samuel 
and  Jane  E.,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased;  John,  who  was  born  in  1832 
and  is  a  retired  farmer  of  Webster  City,  Iowa,  deriving  a  substantial  income 
from  three  good  farms;  Rachel,  who  has  also  passed  away;  Craig,  one  of  the 
wealthy  agriculturists  and  extensive  landowners  of  Ford  county,  living  in 
Drummer  township  three  miles  north  of  Gibson  City;  Sarah,  deceased;  Albert, 
of  this  review;  William,  living  in  Eldorado,  Kansas;  Mary  A.  and  Johnson, 
both  deceased;  one  who  died  in  infancy;  and  Ephraim,  a  resident  of  Lee,  Indi- 
ana, who  is  engaged  in  the  ditching  business.  He  owns  twenty-eight  hundred 
acres  of  swamp  land,  which  he  is  now  draining,  and  the  ditch  when  completed 
will  be  fourteen  miles  long.  It  will  reclaim  a  district  that  will  be  rich  and 
productive  soil  and  can  be  made  very  valuable. 

Albert  Gilmore  largely  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and 
also  spent  two  terms  as  a  student  in  the  Wesleyan  University  at  Bloomington, 
Illinois,  and  in  1863  engaged  in  teaching  school.  Through  the  periods  of 
vacation  he  was  trained  to  the  work  of  the  homestead  and  after  teaching 
engaged  in  farming  at  home.  Subsequent  to  the  father's  death  the  children 
conducted  the  farm  for  about  fifteen  years,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period 
three  brothers,  William,  John  and  Albert  Gilmore,  came  to  Ford  county  and 
in  1864  purchased  sixteen  hundred  acres  of  wild  land.  The  unsettled  and 
unimproved  condition  of  this  section  of  the  state  made  it  possible  for  them  to 
purchase  the  property  at  from  four  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  to  eight  dol- 
lars per  acre.  With  characteristic  energy  they  began  its  development  and 
cultivation   but   Albert   Gilmore   did   not   make   Ford   county   his   home   until 


388  HISTORY  OF  FORD    COUNTY 

1870,  when  he  took  up  liis  abode  within  its  borders.  About  1866  the  broth- 
ers purchased  six  huudred  acres  in  Champaign  county',  four  hundred  acres  of 
which  was  broken.  The  four  brothers  worked  together,  carrying  on  their 
business  interests  thus  until  1870,  when  the  land  was  divided,  Albert  Gilmore's 
share  being  five  hundred  and  tw^enty  acres.  As  he  has  recognized  oppor- 
tunity for  judicious  and  profitable  investment  he  has  since  added  to  his 
property  from  time  to  time  until  he  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  landholders 
in  this  part  of  the  state,  his  possessions  aggregating  two  thousand  acres  in 
Ford  and  McLean  counties,  about  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  acres  being  in 
Ford  county.  He  also  owns  twenty-two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Kansas, 
one  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  in  Missouri  near  Quincy, 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Llinnesota,  three  thousand  acres  in  Canada 
and  other  property.  He  has  always  carried  on  farming  and  stock-raising, 
keeping  only  high  grade  stock,  and  the  development  of  his  fields  and  his  live- 
stock interests  liave  both  proved  sources  of  profit. 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1880,  Mr.  Gilmere  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Boundy,  who  was  born  near  Peoria,  Illinois,  June  19,  1858, 
and  is  a  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Hill)  Boundy,  who  were  of 
English  descent.  Unto  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Gilmore  have  been  born  six  children : 
Samuel,  who  attended  school  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and  lives  uj^on  his  fath- 
er's farm  northwest  of  Gibson  City;  Emma  Josephine,  at  home,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Gibson  high  school  and  also  pursued  a  course  in  bookkeeping 
at  Brown's  College;  Lillie  May,  who  was  also  a  student  in  bookkeeping  in 
Brown's  Business  College  in  Bloomington ;  William  A.,  who  died  in  1890;  and 
Cynthia  M.  and  Florence  E.,  both  at  home. 

The  parents  are  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  to  iho  sup- 
port of  which  they  contribute  generously.  They  resided  upon  the  farm  until 
1905,  when  they  removed  to  Gibson  City,  and  the  following  year  Mr.  Gil- 
more  built  a  beautiful  home.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  having  been  ix 
stalwart  supporter  of  the  ])arty  since  age  conferred  upon  him  tlie  right  of 
francliise,  yet  lie  has  never  been  a  politician  in  the  sense  of  offiee  seeking. 
He  has  preferred  to  concentrate  his  time  and  energies  ui)on  his  business  affairs, 
which  have  been  most  carefully  and  ably  conducted.  His  success  has  resulted 
largely  from  judicious  investments  and  these  liave  come  as  the  result  of  his 
sound  judgment,  which  is  seldom,  if  ever,  at  fault  in  business  transactions. 
He  seems  to  recognize  almost  intuitively  the  value  of  an  opportunity  and  the 
possibilities  which  attend  it  and  liis  keen  sagacity  is  one  of  the  strongest  fac- 
tors  in   his    splendid    success.        His    life,    too,    has    been    characterized    by 


I 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  389 

unwearied  industry  intelligently  applied,  and  the  prosperity  which  he  attained 
should  serve  to  encourage  and  inspire  others,  showing  the  opportunities  that 
lie  before  the  ambitious,  determined,  industrious  American  man.  His  father 
left  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars  to  each  of  his  children,  but  aside  from  this 
Albert  Gilmore  received  no  outside  assistance  and  the  success  that  he  has 
achieved  in  life  is  therefore  due  to  his  own  well  directed  efforts. 


GEORGE  DRENDEL. 

George  Drendel,  a  practical  and  progressive  farmer  of  Blona  township, 
living  on  section  21,  owns  one  hundred  and  seven  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land 
on  section  22  and  28,  and  in  addition  he  oi:)erates  another  tract  of  two  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  also  lying  in  IMona  township.  It  was  in  this  township  that 
Mr.  Drendel  was  born  on  the  6th  of  May,  1871,  of  the  marriage  of  Prank  S. 
and  Mary  (Slater)  Drendel.  His  father  was  long  known  as  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative and  prominent  farmers  of  the  locality.  He  was  born  in  Germany 
on  the  11th  of  November,  1839,  his  parents  being  Martin  and  Mary  (Smith) 
Drendel,  whose  children  were  Francis,  Frank  S.,  Barbara,  George  and  Lewis. 

Frank  S.  Drendel  was  reared  to  farm  life  and  was  educated  in  both  French 
and  German.  He  began  providing  for  his  own  support  as  a  farm  hand  in 
his  native  country  when  fourteen  years  of  age  and  was  employed  by  the  year 
until  1865,  when  he  came  to  the  United  States.  He  did  not  tarry  on  the 
eastern  coast  but  made  his  way  at  once  to  Dupage  county,  Illinois,  where  he 
worked  as  a  farm  hand  for  two  months.  He  was  afterward  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  for  a  time  and  later  in  New  Orleans  prior  to  his  return  to  Illinois. 
In  the  spring  of  1867  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Joliet  and  for  two  years  was 
employed  as  a  laborer  before  coming  to  Ford  county  in  1869.  Here  he  rented 
land  and  broke  prairie  for  five  years,  after  which  he  purchased  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  section  21,  ]\Iona  township,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  As  the  years  passed  by,  however,  he  prospered  and  later  derived 
his  income  from  a  fine  farming  property  of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
which  was  well  improved  and  supplied  with  modern  conveniences,  now  occu- 
pied by  his  heirs.  After  becoming  a  naturalized  American  citizen  he  gave 
his  political  allegiance  to  the  democracy  and  for  many  years  served  as  school 
director.  He  was  a  communicant  of  the  Catholic  church  and  well  known  in 
Mona  township  as  a  citizen  of  genuine  worth.       In  1870  he  wedded  Miss  ]\Iary 


390  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

Slater  and  unto  tliein  have  been  Lorn  five  sons  and  four  daughters,  namely : 
George,  Rebecca,  Susie,  Henry,  Frank,  Frederick,  Mary,  Annie  and  Martin. 
The  father  died  November  13,  1901. 

George  Dreudel  remained  with  his  father  until  lie  attained  his  majority. 
In  the  meantime  he  mastered  the  common  branches  of  learning  taught  in  the 
public  schools  and  was  trained  to  hal)its  of  industry  and  economy,  thus  form- 
ing characteristics  which  in  later  years  have  proved  an  important  element  in 
his  success.  When  he  had  reached  manhood  he  rented  land  from  his  father 
and  continued  its  cultivation  for  several  years  while  in  the  meantime  he  care- 
fully saved  his  earnings  until  he  was  enabled  to  purchase  property  for  himself. 
His  home  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seven  acres  on  sections  22  and  28,  ]\Iona 

township,  is  a  well  developed  tract  of  land  and  in  the  cultivation  of  an  addi- 
tional tract  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  he  adds  materially  to  his  annual 

income.  In  all  of  his  farm  work  he  is  systematic  and  progressive  and  has 
therefore  gained  desirable  success.       He  now  has  charge  of  his  father's  estate. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1897,  Mr.  Drendel  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Thiel,  who  was  born  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois,  October  14,  1876,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Ilughman)  Thiel,  who  were  natives  of  Germany  and 
came  to  the  United  States  at  an  early  day.  Mrs.  Drendel  was  one  of  a  family 
of  six  children  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of  two  daughters 
and  three  sons:  Ethel  M.,  Emma  E.,  Lester  F.,  Walter  M.,  and  Georgf 
Henry. 

The  parents  hold  membership  in  tlie  Catholic  church  at  Cullom  and  Mr. 
Drendel  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  lodge  there.  He  exercises  his  right  of  fran- 
chise in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  democracy  and  for  seven 
years  he  filled  the  office  of  school  director.  The  cause  of  education  finds  in 
him  a  stalwart  champion  and  he  stanchly  advocates  every  movement  calculated 
to  prove  of  public  good,  always  desiring  the  best  development  of  the 
communitv. 


A.  C.  MUNRO. 


A.  C.  Munro  possesses  the  enterprising  spirit  of  the  middle  west.  He 
owns  eighty  acres  of  land  on  sections  28  and  33,  Pella  township,  and  operates 
a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres.  He  is  thus  leading  a  life  of  industry  and  is 
meeting   with   fair  success   in   his   undertakings.        He   was   born   in   La   Salle 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  391 

count}',  Illinois,  January  14,  1865,  his  parents  being  W.  C.  and  Emma  (Pearson) 
Miinro.  The  father  was  born  in  IMassachnsetts,  while  the  mother's  birth 
occurred  near  Dayton,  Ohio.  In  1854  W.  C.  Mnnro  arrived  in  Illinois  and 
located  in  La  Salle  county,  where  he  began  farming,  carrying  on  agricultural 
pursuits  throughout  his  remaining  days.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  now 
deceased.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  survive: 
Rosetta,  the  wife  of  Henry  Milborn,  of  Kankakee,  Illinois;  A.  C,  of  this 
review;  Amanda,  deceased;  Lemuel  B.,  who  resides  in  IMarshalltown,  Iowa; 
Elvira,  the  Avife  of  James  Grey,  of  Saunemin,  Livingston  count.y,  Illinois ;  G. 
W.,  who  makes  his  home  in  Iowa;  Ira  P.,  of  this  county;  and  Esther,  who 
resides  in  Fairbury. 

No  event  of  special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the  routine  of  farm  life 
for  A.  C.  Munro  in  his  boyhood  and  youth.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
and  thoroughly  mastered  the  branches  of  learning  therein  taught.  He  con- 
tinued with  his  father  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  started  out  in 
business  life  as  a  school  teacher,  following  the  profession  for  three  years.  On 
the  expiration  of  that  period  he  made  a  trip  westward  to  Nebraska,  where  he 
worked  for  four  years  at  Alliance,  after  which  he  engaged  in  farming  on  his 
own  account  for  two  years.  In  1891  he  returned  to  Illinois,  where  he  was 
emploj^ed  at  various  kinds  of  labor  for  four  years  and  then  went  to  Iowa, 
where  he  followed  farming  for  a  year.  Again  returning  to  his  native  state, 
he  filled  such  positions  as  he  could  secure  for  two  years  and  later  began  farm- 
ing on  his  own  account. 

Mr.  IMunro  was  married  in  1898  to  Miss  Edith  Dillon,  who  was  born  in 
Livingston  county,  Illinois,  in  1870,  a  daughter  of  Edwin  and  Elizabeth  Dil- 
lon. The  mother  is  still  living  in  Fairbury,  this  state,  but  the  father  died 
May  4,  1908.  Unto  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Dillon  were  born  three  children :  Oscar, 
now  living  on  the  old  homestead;  Alida,  the  wife  of  George  Kilbury,  and 
Mrs.  Munro.  The  last  named  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of  T  )nr 
children ;  Esther  L.,  Edwin  C.,  and  Ruth  E.,  who  are  yet  under  the  parental 
roof;  and  Willard  R.,  deceased. 

The  family  home  is  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  lying  on  sections  28  and  33, 
Bella  township,  and  Mr.  ]\Iunro  operates  altogether  two  hundred  acres  of  land, 
which  he  has  brought  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  the  fields  returning 
to  him  rich  crops.  In  his  farm  work  he  is  practical  and  has  lived  a  life  of 
industry  and  untiring  diligence,  his  success  being  based  entirely  upon  his  own 
labors  and  capable  management.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  ]\Iunro  are  consistent 
members  of  the  Christian  church  of  Fairbury  and  his  influence  is  ever  given 


392  HISTOKY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

on  the  side  of  tliose  movements  and  measures  whieli  tend  to  uplift  mankind 
and  make  the  world  l)etter.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  temperance  cause 
and  votes  with  the  prohibition  party.  His  fellow  townsmen,  recognizing  his 
trustworthiness  and  his  ability,  have  called  him  to  public  office.  He  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace  for  four  years  and  is  now  acting  as  a  school  director. 


HARRY   SCHUTTE. 

The  farming  interests  of  Dix  township  find  a  worthy  representative  in 
Harry  Schutte,  who  makes  his  home  on  section  28.  He  is  pleasantly  located 
about  six  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Gibson  City  and  a  mile  and  a  quarter 
northeast  of  Guthrie,  and  here  he  is  successfully  engaged  in  general  farming 
and  stock-raising.  He  was  born  in  the  northern  part  of  Germany  in  1857 
and  is  a  son  of  Gerhard  and  Taytye  Schutte,  who  were  farming  people  of  the 
fatherland,  where  they  spent  their  entire  lives.  In  their  family  were  six 
children,  and  two  sisters,  Ellis  and  Johanna,  are  now  residents  of  America. 

Harry  Schutte  acquired  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Germany  and  came 
to  America  in  1881,  when  a  young  man  of  twenty-four  years.  He  sailed  from 
Bremen  and  after  a  voyage  of  two  weeks  landed  at  Baltimore  but  did  not 
tarry  on  the  eastern  coast,  making  liis  way  direct  to  Gibson  City,  Illinois. 
In  this  locality  he  worked  out  by  the  month  as  a  farm  hand  for  six  years 
on  different  farms  and  then  Avhen  his  labors  and  economy  had  brought  him 
sufficient  capital  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land,  of  Avhich  he  became  the 
possessor  in  1890,  paying  for  it  fifty  dollars  per  acre.  Five  years  later  he 
sold  that  tract  for  seventy-five  dollars  per  acre  and  invested  in  a  quarter  sec- 
tion of  land  where  he  now  lives  on  section  28,  Dix  township.  For  this  he 
paid  seventy-five  dollars  per  acre.  He  has  placed  most  of  the  improvements 
upon  the  property,  has  drained  and  tiled  the  land,  l)uilt  barns,  put  in  scales 
and  in  fact  has  added  all  modern  er|uipments  and  accessories  which  facili- 
tate the  farm  work.  In  addition  to  raising  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil 
and  climate  he  also  handles  some  stock  and  gains  a  good  financial  return 
annually  from  liis  labors  in  that  direction.  In  addition  to  the  home  property 
he  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Sullivant  to\^^lship,  Ford 
county,  which  he  purchased  two  years  ago  for  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars  per 
acre  and  which  is  well  improved. 


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HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  395 

In  1888  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Schutte  and  Miss  Caroline  Bonnen 
a  sister  of  Harry  Bonnen,  of  whom  mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
She  was  born  in  Germany  and  was  a  daughter  of  Bonnie  P.  and  Tillie  (De 
Grote)  Bonnen.  They  came  to  America  in  1867  and  Mrs.  Schutte  acciuired 
her  education  in  the  district  schools  of  this  country.  By  her  marriage  she  has 
become  the  mother  of  seven  children:  George;  Tillie;  John;  Caroline;  Annie; 
Elma,  deceased;  and  the  first  born,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Schutte  casts  an  independent  ballot,  supporting  men  and  measures 
rather  than  party.  He  is,  however,  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  community 
and  his  cooperation  can  always  be  counted  upon  to  further  progressive  public 
measures.  He  belongs  to  the  German  Lutheran  church  and  a  life  of  upright- 
ness and  business  integrity  has  won  for  him  the  friendship  and  good  will  of 
his  fellowmen. 


GEORGE   D.  MONTELIUS. 

George  D.  Montelius,  wdiose  prominence  in  the  grain  trade  of  Illinois  is 
indicated  by  his  election  as  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Illinois  State  Grain 
Dealers'  Association,  is  now  extensively  operating  in  grain  at  Piper  City  under 
the  firm  name  of  George  D.  IMontelius  &  Company,  becoming  his  father's  part- 
ner and  his  successor  in  the  management  of  the  business. 

He  was  born  in  Piper  City,  November  30,  1872,  and  has  always  made  his 
home  here.  In  early  boyhood  he  attended  the  public  schools  and  for  four 
years  was  under  the  instruction  of  a  private  tutor,  after  which  he  spent  two 
years  as  a  student  in  Lake  Forest  Academy.  He  likewise  attended  the  ]\Iichi- 
gan  Military  Academy  at  Orchard  Lake,  IMichigan,  for  two  years  and  follow- 
ing his  return  to  Piper  City  became  a  factor  in  its  business  circles  in  the  winter 
of  1894  as  a  partner  with  his  brothers,  J.'  K.  and  J.  A.  Montelius,  in  the  agri- 
cultural implement  business  under  the  firm  style  of  Montelius  Brothers.  This 
association  was  maintained  until  the  1st  of  May,  1902,  wdien  George  D.  Montel- 
ius sold  liis  interest  to  his  ])r()ther  J.  A.  IMontelius,  Jr.,  and  entered  the  grain 
trade  w^ith  his  father  under  the  firm  name  of  George  D.  Montelius  &  Company. 
He  has  continued  therein  to  the  present  time  and  since  the  1st  of  May,  1902, 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade.  He  is  widely  known 
because  of  the  extent  and  importance  of  his  operations  as  a  grain  dealer  and 
has  met  with  gratifying  success  in  the  business. 


396  HISTORY   OF  FORD    COUNTY 

On  the  1st  of  November,  1894,  Mr.  IMontelius  was  married  to  ]\riss  Clara 
Plank,  who  was  born  in  Piper  City,  a  daughter  of  J.  B.  Plank.  She  died  in 
1896.  and  on  the  26th  of  June,  1900,  Mr.  Moutelius  was  again  married,  his 
second  union  being  with  Anna  F.  Stadler,  a  native  of  this  place  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  John  Stadler.  There  are  two  children  of  this  marriage:  Charles  H., 
born  June  23,  1902;  and  Dorothy  H.,  born  March  28,  1907. 

In  his  political  views  IMr.  IMontelius  is  an  inflexible  republican  and  for 
three  terms  has  served  as  village  trustee.  His  cooperation  can  always  be 
counted  upon  to  aid  in  the  practical  work  of  improving  and  upbuilding  the 
village.  He  has  attained  high  rank  in  Masonry  and  is  a  past  master  of  Piper 
Lodge,  No.  608,  A.  F.  &  A.  ]\I. ;  a  past  commander  of  St.  Paul  Commandery, 
No.  34,  K.  T.,  of  Fairbury,  while  in  Oriental  Consistory,  Chicago,  he  has 
attained  the  thirty-second  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite  and  is  a  member  of  Me- 
dinali  Temple  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He 
also  belongs  to  Piper  Lodge,  No.  471,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  to  Piper  Camp,  No.  718, 
M.  W.  A.  His  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  as  one  of  its  elders  he  does  all  in  his  power  to  promote  its 
growth  and  extend  its  influence.  The  members  of  the  Montelius  family  need 
no  introduction  to  the  readers  of  this  volume,  for  the  sons  have  followed  the 
example  of  their  honored  father  and  are  enterprising,  reliable  business  men, 
who  accomplish  what  they  inidertake  and  in  that  accomplishment  follow  meth- 
ods which  neither  seek  nor  require  disguise. 


JOHN  RICHARDSON. 

John  Richardson,  who  is  now  living  retired  in  Elliott  is  numbered  among 
the  large  landowners  of  Ford  county.  He  is  also  accounted  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  this  section  of  the  state,  for  in  the  last  half  century  he  has  seen  the 
county  grow  from  a  wild  country  with  only  a  few  white  inhabitants,  to  a  rich 
agricultural  country,  containing  thousands  of  good  homes  and  acres  of  growing 
towns.  in]ial)ited  by  an  industrious  and  prosperous  people,  and  he  has  not  only 
been  an  interested  witness  but  an  active  participant  in  the  slow,  persistent  work 
of  development  which  was  necessary  to  produce  this  wonderful  change. 

Mr.  Richardson  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England,  January  1,  1829,  a  son 
of  John  and  Mary  Ann  (Kelly)  Richardson,  the  former  a  farmer  of  England. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  397 

The  son  acquired  his  edueation  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  land  and 
there  remained  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  when  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  on  their  emigration  to  Quebec,  the  family  home  being 
estal)lished  in  Quebec.  Tie  was  there  liound  out  to  a  mason  and  builder  to 
learn  the  mason's  trade.  After  completing  his  apprenticeship  he  went  to 
Detroit,  ]\Iichigan,  where  for  a  time  he  worked  at  his  trade  and  then  worked  for 
a  time  in  Flint,  that  state.  In  1857  he  made  his  way  to  Paxton,  Ford  county, 
but  after  residing  there  three  years  he  removed  to  Ten  Mile  Grove  and  operated 
a  rented  farm  for  one  year,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  removed  to  a  farm  which 
he  had  purchased  in  Wall  township.  This  tract  was  originally  in  possession 
of  the  railroad  company  and  after  it  came  under  control  of  our  subject  it  was 
transformed  into  a  fine  tract  which  annually  returned  good  crops  as  a  reward 
for  the  care  and  labor  he  had  bestowed  upon  it.  As  time  passed  and  he  pros- 
pered in  his  undertakings  he  increased  the  boundaries  of  his  farm  until  he  was 
in  possession  of  five  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  which  he  eventually  traded 
for  ten  hundred  and  thirteen  acres,  situated  near  Paxton  in  Dix  township.  lie 
continued  to  carry  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  1871,  when  he  retired 
from  active  business  life  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  village  of  Elliott,  occupy- 
ing the  third  house  that  was  erected  there.  He  still  has  extensive  landed  hold- 
ings, however,  being  the  owmer  of  eighteen  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land, 
nearly  all  of  which  is  used  for  general  farming  purposes  and  which  returns 
to  him  a  good  annual  income  which  enables  him  now  to  spend  the  evening  of 
his  life  in  honorable  retirement. 

Mr.  Richardson  established  a  home  of  his  own  l)y  his  marriage  in  1856 
to  Miss  Sarah  Simons,  a  daughter  of  Nathan  Simons,  who  served  as  the  first 
county  clerk  of  Ford  county.  Their  marriage  has  been  blessed  with  five  chil- 
dren, one  son  and  four  daughters,  namely:  Nathan,  who  resides  on  his 
father's  farm;  Florence,  the  wife  of  A.  W.  Barrow,  a  resident  of  Gibson  City, 
by  whom  she  has  one  son ;  Pamelie,  the  wife  of  C.  P.  Wardell,  a  resident  of 
Los  x\ngeles,  California,  and  the  mother  of  two  children ;  Maud,  the  wife  of 
Albert  Keith,  a  resident  of  Chicago,  by  whom  she  has  two  children ;  and  Mary, 
the  wife  of  0.  S.  Hopkins,  of  Oakland,  California. 

Mr.  Richardson  is  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the  democratic  party  and  his 
religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  United  Brethren  church. 
He  is  numbered  among  the  honorable  and  honored  i)ioneers  of  this  section  of 
the  state  and  can  relate  in  interesting  manner  incidents  of  the  early  days  when 
deer  and  wolves  were  roaming  over  the  prairies  and  when  all  kinds  of  wild 
game  were  plentiful.       He  takes  great  delight  in  the  wonderful  changes  which 


398  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

have  here  oceiirred,  transforming-  Ford  eoiinty  into  a  prosperous  district  and 
through  tlie  cultivation  of  the  soil  has  acquired  the  competence  that  now 
enables  him  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years  to  live  in  well  earned  ease  in  a 
comfortable  home  in  Elliott. 


HENRY  RAAB. 


Henry  Raab  is  a  worthy  representative  of  one  of  the  honored  and  respected 
pioneer  families  of  this  section  of  the  state.  He  is  now  closely  associated 
with  agricultural  interests  in  Ford  county  and  also  figures  in  financial  circles 
as  vice  president  of  the  Farmers  State  Bank  of  Cabery.  He  was  born  in 
]\Iorris,  Grundy  county,  Illinois,  May  9,  1863,  his  parents  being  George  and 
Wilhelmina  (Beaver)  Raab,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Germany.  They 
came  to  the  United  States  in  early  life  and  were  married  in  Illinois.  The 
father  died  upon  the  farm  which  is  no^v  the  home  of  his  son  Henry,  his  death 
resulting  from  the  kick  of  a  colt,  on  the  4th  of  September,  1864,  when  he  was 
but  thirty-nine  years  of  age.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Germany,  September 
20,  1827,  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1856  and  died  in  Cabery,  February  13,  1897. 
After  losing  her  first  husband  she  became  the  wife  of  Carl  Rusag.  There 
were  no  children  by  the  second  marriage  and  by  the  first  marriage  there  was 
a  daughter,  Mary,  now  the  wife  of  Herman  Christ,  of  Kankakee  county.  Illi- 
nois; and  Henry. 

Henry  Raab  was  only  about  a  year  old  when  his  parents  removed  from 
Grundy  county  to  Ford  county  and  settled  upon  the  farm  which  has  since 
been  his  liome.  Here  he  was  reared  and  was  early  trained  to  the  work  of  the 
fields,  gaining  intimate  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  tilling  the  soil  and 
caring  for  the  crops.  lie  now  owns  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land,  all 
on  section  20,  Rogers  townshij),  wliich  includes  the  eighty  acres  contained  in 
the  original  Raab  farm.  All  of  the  improvements  upon  the  place  have  been 
made  by  our  subject  and  tlie  family.  It  was  a  ti'act  of  unl)roken  prairie 
when  tlie  father  came,  and  witli  cliarficteristic  (>nergy  he  ])egan  to  tui'ii  llie  fur- 
rows and  ]ilant  the  fields,  while  Henry  Haab  aided  more  and  more  largely  in 
the  woi-k  of  the  farm  as  his  age  and  strength  increased.  Three  years  ago  he 
erected  his  present  dwelling,  which  is  a  substantial  residence,  and  there  are  also 
other  good  1)nildings  upon  the  ])lace,  indicative  of  the  ])rogressive  spirit  of 
the  owner,  whose  energy  and  diligence  have  been  the  resultant  factors  in  his 


MR.  AND  MRS.  HENRY  RAAB 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  401 

success.  Aside  from  his  farming  interests  he  is  now  a  director  and  the  vice 
president  of  the  Farmers  State  Bank  of  Cabery  since  its  organization  in  ]003 
and  he  is  also  a  director  and  secretary  of  the  Kempton  Farmers  elevator. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  1889,  Mr.  Raab  was  united  in  marriage  to  ]\Iiss 
Christina  Ottmuller,  who  was  born  in  Woodford  county,  Illinois,  near  El  Paso, 
September  20,  1867,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Jordena  (Johnson)  Ottmuller, 
who  were  natives  of  Germany,  the  former  a  native  of  Wittenberg  and  the  lat- 
ter of  Hanover.  They  were  married,  however,  in  Illinois  and  the  father  died 
in  Cullom  three  years  ago,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years,  while  the  mother 
still  resides  in  Cullom.  In  their  family  were  four  children :  Charles,  who 
is  living  near  Cullom ;  ]\Irs.  Raab ;  Jacob,  a  resident  of  North  Dakota ;  and 
Chris,  who  is  now  living  in  ^lontana.  Unto  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Raab  have  been 
born  four  children,  Jordena,  George,  Hattie  and  Frederick. 

Mr.  Raab  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  the  republican  party,  doing  all  in  his 
power  to  promote  its  growth  and  extend  its  influence.  He  is  now  serving  for 
the  third  consecutive  term  as  supervisor  of  Rogers  township  and  his  reelection 
is  indicative  of  his  fidelity  and  capability  in  office.  He  belong-s  to  the  Lutheran 
church  and  is  a  man  whose  many  excellent  traits  of  character  have  won  for  him 
the  respect  of  those  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact.  He  is  loyal  and 
progressive  in  citizenship,  reliable  and  diligent  in  business,  and  true  to  the  ties 
of  friendship.  Almost  his  entire  life  has  been  spent  in  Ford  county  and  he 
has  been  a  witness  of  its  growth  and  upbuilding  for  forty-four  years. 


CALEB    McKEEVER. 

Caleb  IMcKeever  is  a  retired  farmer  now  living  in  Gibson  City.  He  was 
born  near  Brand^^wine,  Delaware,  on  the  Sth  of  ]\Iay,  1825,  and  has  therefore 
passed  the  eighty-third  milestone  on  life's  journey.  A  review  of  his  record 
shows  much  that  is  commendable  and  indicates  the  value  of  energy  and  per- 
severance as  factors  in  the  accjuirement  of  success.  His  parents  were  William 
and  Sarah  (Harlan)  McKeever,  both  natives  of  Chester  county,  Penns^'lvania, 
where  they  were  married  in  1812.  The  father  was  of  Scotch  extraction  and 
.when  a  lad  of  fifteen  years  was  one  day  sent  by  his  parents  for  a  jug  of 
molasses  but  he  hid  the  jug  and  ran  away  to  sea,  remaining  for  four  years. 
On  his  return  he  looked  for  the  jug  but  failed  to  find  it.  His  experience  on 
the  ocean,  however,  had  satisfied  him   with  that  life   and  thereafter  his  time 


402  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  energies  were  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pursuits.  After  his  marriage 
he  removed  with  his  family  to  Delaware.  About  1828  he  returned  to  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided  luitil  1833,  when  he  removed  to  Urbana, 
Ohio,  where  he  spent  one  year.  He  next  located  on  a  farm  east  of  Urbana 
and  while  living  there  his  wife  died,  in  1842,  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years, 
her  remains  being  interred  in  the  cemetery  near  her  home.  The  father 
remained  in  Champaign  county  until  1867,  when  he  went  to  Iowa,  residing 
with  a  daughter  until  1870.  In  that  year  he  came  to  Ford  county  and  made 
his  home  with  his  son  Caleb  until  his  demise,  which  occurred  November  2:5. 
1874.  His  wife  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers.  In 
political  belief  Mr.  McKeever  was  a  democrat.  This  worthy  couple  had  a 
family  of  six  children :  John  and  Isaac,  deceased ;  INIargaret,  the  wife  of  D. 
Osborn ;  Caleb,  of  this  review ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  William  C.  Buneutter ;  and 
Ruth  A.,  the  wife  of  J.  Spain. 

Caleb  McKeever  acquired  his  education  by  attending  a  district  school  for 
about  three  months  in  a  year.  The  little  "temple  of  learning"  was  a  log 
building,  the  benches  made  out  of  slal:)s,  while  the  desks  were  formed  of  slabs 
resting  on  wooden  pins  driven  into  the  sides  of  the  room.  The  curriculum 
was  limited  and  the  methods  of  instruction  very  primitive  as  compared  witli 
the  modes  of  teaching  at  the  present  time.  The  school  teacher,  too,  usually 
had  a  belief  in  the  old  adage,  "Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the  child."  When 
not  busy  with  his  text-books  Caleb  IMcKeever  worked  upon  the  home  farm  and 
his  training  in  the  labors  of  the  fields  was  not  meager.  On  attaining  his 
majority  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account.  His  mother  had  died 
Avhen  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  Early  in  manhood  he  began  work  by 
the  month  as  a  farm  hand,  working  thus  until  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  when 
lie  married  ami  established  a  home  of  his  own. 

It  was  on  the  Gth  of  November,  1851,  that  Caleb  IMcKeever  wedded  ]\Iiss 
Sarah  E.  Thompson,  who  was  born  in  Chami)aigu  county,  Ohio,  December  12, 
1826,  and  died  October  3,  1903.  They  had  traveled  life's  journey  happily 
together  for  fifty-two  A'ears.  Mrs.  McKeever  was  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  (King)  Thompson,  the  former  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  of  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry,  while  the  mother  was  a  native  of  County  Armagh,  Ireland,  and 
came  to  America  witli  hci'  parents  when  twelve  years  of  age.  They  were  mar- 
ried in  Newville,  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  to  them  were  born 
nine  children,  all  of  whom  have  now  passed  away.  They  continued  residents  of 
Pennsylvani.i  until  1820,  when  they  removed  to  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  and 
Mr.    Thompson   became   a    very   successful   and    wealthy   citizen    of   that   com- 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  403 

inunity.  He  was  also  prumineiit  and  iiiliuontial  in  public  affairs,  took  an 
active  part  in  matters  relating  to  the  general  welfare  and  for  twenty-one  years 
acceptably  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  In  politics  he  was  a  whig 
and  afterward  a  republican  and  both  he  and  his  wife  were  devoted  members 
of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

]\Ir.  and  IMrs.  McKeever  were  married  in  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  and 
began  their  domestic  life  uj^on  a  farm  in  Logan  county,  where  they  made  their 
home  for  ten  years.  They  afterward  removed  to  Sangamon  county,  Illinois, 
settling  near  Williamsville,  where  Mr.  McKeever  rented  two  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land.  This  he  cultivated  until  February,-  1864,  when  he  bought  two 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Ford  county,  where  he  has  since  made  his 
home.  He  now  owns  two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  good  land,  well  tiled, 
having  given  forty  acres  to  his  youngest  son,  who  sold  it  for  two  thousand 
dollars  and  then  bought  eighty  acres  near  Gil)son,  for  which  he  paid  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  dollars,  and  to  which  he  has  added  until  his  property  inter- 
ests now  include  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  The  father's  farm  is  one 
mile  north  and  three  miles  west  of  Gibson  City  and  is  divided  into  fields,  which 
are  well  fenced.  Two  of  his  fields  contain  fifty  acres  each,  two  contain 
twenty-five  acres  and  two  others  contain  thirty-five  acres  each.  He  has  placed 
all  of  the  improvements  upon  his  land  and  made  it  a  rich  and  valuable  farm, 
known  as  one  of  the  model  farm  properties  of  the  locality. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKeever  were  born  six  children:  John,  who  is  now 
engaged  in  the  implement  business  in  Urbana,  Ohio;  Samuel  Alexander,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  months;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Dr.  T.  B. 
Stross,  living  with  her  father  in  Gibson ;  "William,  who  resides  upon  a  farm 
west  of  Gibson;  and  Stephen  and  James,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  McKeever  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  in  Ohio  for  Lewis  Cass  and 
has  been  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the  republican  party  since  the  Civil  war.  He 
has  served  as  supervisor  for  one  term  and  as  school  director  for  a  niniiber  of 
years.  When  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Drummer  township  there  was  no 
school  within  its  borders,  but  the  first  year  he  and  other  public-spirited  citi- 
zens built  a  good  schoolhouse.  They  always  employed  the  best  teachers,  paying 
seventy-five  dollars  per  month — a  very  high  wage  at  that  time.  There  were 
no  railroads  through  the  district  at  that  day  and  all  the  trading  was  done  at 
Bloomington  and  at  Paxton.  Mr.  McKeever  relates  many  interesting  inci- 
dents of  the  early  days  when  this  section  of  the  state  was  largely  undeveloped 
and  unimproved.  The  farm  machinery  was  very  crude  as  compared  with  that 
in  use  at  the  present  time  and  it  is  such  citizens  as  Mr.  McKeever  who  have 


404  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

made  Ford  county  what  it  is  today — one  of  the  richest  agricultural  sections  in 
this  great  state.  His  life  has  been  well  spent  and  in  the  evening  of  his  days 
he  can  look  back  over  the  past  without  regret,  for  his  many  excellent  traits 
of  character  have  won  for  him  the  respect,  good  will  and  veneration  of  his 
fellowmen. 


FERDINAND   FRICKE. 

Close  application  and  unremitting  industry  are  always  essential  elements 
of  success  and  when  guided  by  discriminating  judgment  they  never  fail  to 
bring  a  satisfactory  reward  for  labor.  This  is  evidenced  in  the  life  of  Fer- 
dinand Fricke,  now  a  retired  farmer  and  old  settler  of  Ford  county.  He  is 
now  living  in  Sibley,  deriving  a  large  income  from  his  farming  interests.  He 
was  born  in  the  province  of  Brandenburg,  Germany,  September  9,  1852,  about 
fifteen  miles  east  of  Berlin,  his  parents  being  Carl  D.  and  Caroline  (Hamer- 
link)   Fricke. 

Tlie  father  w^as  a  weaver  b.y  trade  and  his  family  removed  to  the  province 
of  Posen,  Germany,  where  he  remained  until  1875.  In  that  year  he  crossed 
the  Atlantic  and  became  a  resident  of  McLean  county,  Illinois,  where  he  turned 
his  attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits.  As  the  years  passed  he  suc- 
cessfully conducted  his  farming  interests  luitil  1897,  when,  having  acquired  a 
handsome  competence,  he  retired  to  private  life  and  removed  to  the  town  of 
Anchor,  McLean  county,  where  he  died  in  1900.  His  first  wife,  the  mother 
of  our  subject,  had  passed  away  in  1882  and  Mr.  Fricke  was  afterward  married 
to  Mrs.  Henrietta  Steinleieht,  who  still  survives  him.  Six  of  the  children  by 
his  first  marriage  reached  adult  age,  and  of  those  who  have  passed  away  three 
died  wftliin  two  days  of  cholera,  which  was  then  epidemic  in  the  province  of 
Posen.  The  others  are:  Augusta,  the  wife  of  F.  Hoffman,  of  Anchor, 
Illinois;  Carl,  deceased;  Ferdinand,  whose  name  introduces  this  record;  Gus- 
tave,  a  resident  of  Anchor,  Illinois;  and  Pauliiui.  the  wife  of  F.  Gerbrock,  of 
Loda. 

Ferdinand  Fricke  was  educated  in  the  province  of  Pos(>n  and  at  the  age 
of  nineteen  years  came  to  America.  He  has  since  1872  made  his  home  in  Ford 
county  and  during  the  early  years  of  his  residence  lu'i'e  worked  as  a  farm  hand 
in  the  employ  of  IVIr.  Sidliviiiit,  then  one  of  the  most  ])ronn'iient  landowners  of 
this  part  of  the  state.       lie  coiitinuetl  in  his  employ  for  two  years,  after  which 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  405 

he  cultivated  land  which  he  rented  from  Mr.  Sullivant  for  two  years.  In  the 
meantime  he  carefully  saved  his  earnings  and  in  18S0  felt  justified  in  the  pur- 
chase of  eighty  acres  of  the  old  Sullivant  farm  on  section  19,  Sullivant  township, 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  for  which  he  paid  twenty-two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  The  land  was  unimproved  and  IMr.  Fricke  had  to  erect  all 
of  the  buildings  and  do  all  of  the  work,  whereby  this  tract  was  converted  into 
rich  and  productive  fields.  Year  after  year  his  labors  were  carefully  conducted 
until  1891,  when  he  sold  the  land,  for  which  he  received  seventy  dollars  per 
acre.  He  had  in  the  meantime  erected  a  fine  residence  and  made  other  sub- 
stantial improvements  there.  Following  the  sale  of  the  property  he  removed  to 
McLean  county,  where  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres,  for  which 
he  gave  seventy  dollars  per  acre.  This  land  lies  on  section  3,  Anchor  township 
and  is  splendidly  equipped  with  a  comfortable  dwelling,  barns,  cribs  and  sheds. 
It  is  well  tiled  and  the  soil  is  naturally  productive  and  Mr.  Fricke  could  easily 
sell  for  two  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  In  addition  to  this  property  he  owns  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Wall  township,  Ford  county,  which  he  purchased 
in  1903  for  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre.  This  farm  is  also 
excellently  improved  in  every  respect.  He  purchased  his  present  home  in  Sib- 
ley in  1905,  having  here  a  two-story  residence  of  nine  rooms,  for  which  he  paid 
forty-five  hundred  dollars.  When  he  first  came  to  the  county  it  was  practi- 
call}^  an  unimproved  district  and  there  was  not  a  house  uj^on  the  road  between 
Gibson  and  his  place. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1876,  Mr.  Fricke  was  married  to  Miss  Marie  Schepple- 
man,  a  daughter  of  Louis  and  Caroline  (Lidiekie)  Scheppleman,  who  were 
natives  of  Germany  and  became  residents  of  St.  Louis  in  185-4.  They  were 
married  in  that  city  and  thence  removed  to  Pekin,  Illinois,  residing  in  Tazewell 
county  for  ten  years,  while  in  1868  they  became  residents  of  Ford  county,  set- 
tling  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county.  Few  roads  had  been  laid  out 
and  no  bridges  had  been  built.  Mr.  Scheppleman  had  two  neighbors-who  lived 
not  far  distant  but  other  settlements  were  four  or  five  miles  away.  There  were 
various  kinds  of  wild  animals  which  infested  the  districts,  including  wolves, 
bears,  wildcats  and  coons.  There  were  many  deer  and  various  kinds  of  feath- 
ered game.  Mr.  Scheppleman  did  not  at  first  purchase  land  but  rented  land  until 
1875,  when  he  bought  eighty  acres  near  Fairbury.  This  was  slightly  improved 
and  he  paid  thirty-six  dollars  per  acre  for  it.  Subsequently  he  sold  it  for  about 
the  same  price  and  then  purchased  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Sullivant 
township,  which  was  entirely  unimproved,  being  simply  raw  prairie  land  With 
characteristic  energy  he  began  its  development  and  cultivation  and  it  is  now  one 


406  HISTORY  OF  FOED   COUNTY 

of  the  best  farms  of  the  county  worth  two  hundred  doHars  per  acre.  He  died 
upon  this  place  in  1897,  while  his  wife  survived  him  until  1902.  They  were 
the  parents  of  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are  yet  living,  namely:  Marie,  now 
Mrs.  Fricke ;  Christ,  a  resident  of  East  Lynn,  Illinois ;  Louis,  also  of  Illinois ; 
Henry,  who  makes  his  home  in  Sibley ;  Charles,  who  resides  on  the  old  home 
farm ;  and  Rudolph,  also  of  Ford  county. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fricke  became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  as  follows : 
Louie,  a  "resident  of  Melvin ;  Annie,  the  wife  of  Lambert  Brithorse.  of  Ford 
county;  Charley,  who  makes  his  home  in  Glen  Ellyn,  Illinois;  Frederick,  of 
Anchor,  Illinois;  William,  of  Bloomington,  this  state;  and  Marie  and  Emanuel, 
both  at  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fricke  belong  to  the  German  Lutheran  church 
and  Mr.  Fricke  is  a  member  of  Columbian  Lodge,  I.  0.  0.  F.  He  has  taken 
quite  an  active  interest  in  politics,  serving  in  McLean  county  as  township  col- 
lector of  Anchor  township  for  one  term,  while  at  present  he  is  alderman  in 
Sibley.  He  was  also  a  school  director  in  Anchor  township  for  a  number  of 
years.       The  cause  of  education  finds  in  him  a  stalwart  champion. 

In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  believing  that  its  platform  contains  the  best 
elements  of  good  government.  As  time  has  passed  he  has  worked  on  steadily 
and  persistently  year  after  year,  adding  to  his  cai)ital  continually  until  now 
in  the  possession  of  a  handsome  competence  he  finds  it  unnecessary  to  continue 
the  active  Avork  of  the  farm,  for  his  income  is  sufficient  to  supply  all  his  wants. 
He  nuiy  well  be  proud  of  the  success  which  he  has  achieved,  as  it  is  said  that 
ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  men  who  enter  business  life  never  gain  prosperity 
and  yet  the  road  to  success  is  open  to  all.  Mr.  Fricke  had  the  perseverance 
to  continue  therein  and  he  based  his  business  principles  and  actions  upon  the 
rules  which  govern  strict  and  unswerving  integrity  and  industry. 


JOHN  MEIKLE. 


John  Meikle,  whose  death  on  the  1st  of  March,  188G,  deprived  Piper  City 
of  one  of  its  esteemed  and  valued  residents,  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, about  1837.  He  was  left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age  and  went  to  live 
with  his  father's  brother.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  resident  of  Wau- 
pun,  Wisconsin,  with  his  uncle  Robert  and  for  ten  years  remained  a  resident 
of  the  Badger  state. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  409 

During  that  period  INIr.  IMeikle  was  married,  in  Wisconsin,  in  1861,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Entwistle,  who  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England,  June  1,  1843, 
and  was  only  four  months  old  when  her  parents  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  tlie 
new  world,  establishing  their  home  in  Wisconsin,  where  she  resided  until  her 
marriage.  Her  parents  were  James  and  Jane  (Draper)  Entwistle,  natives 
of  Bolton,  England,  who  lived  for  a  considerable  period  in  Wisconsin  but  died 
in  Ford  county,  Illinois.  After  losing  his  wife,  the  father  made  his  liome  with 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Meikle,  passing  away  at  the  very  venerable  age  of  ninety- 
six  years.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  of  French  lineage.  By  his  first  mar- 
riage Mr.  Entwistle  had  two  children  and  by  a  latter  marriage  had  four 
children,  IMrs.  Meikle  being  the  only  daughter  of  the  second  marriage. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meikle  began  their  domestic  life  in  Wisconsin,  where  they 
remained  for  about  two  years,  and  then  removed  to  Peoria  in  1863.  Three 
years  were  there  passed,  after  which  they  took  up  their  abode  in  Chatsworth, 
Livingston  county,  Illinois,  in  1866.  In  1870  they  came  to  Ford  county,  set- 
tling on  a  farm  in  Brenton  township,  where  Mr.  Meikle  carried  on  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits  for  about  ten  years,  having  two  hinidred  and  twenty  acres 
of  land,  which  he  cultivated  and  improved,  making  it  a  valuable  farm.  At 
length  he  sold  that  land  and  bought  a  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  a  mile  south  of  Piper  City,  where  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
Throughout  his  entire  life  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  and 
prospered  in  his  undertakings.  He  developed  the  present  fine  farm  which  is 
now  the  property  of  his  widow,  placed  good  buildings  upon  it  and  added  all 
modern  improvements  and  accessories.  In  addition  to  cultivating  the  cereals 
best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate  he  made  a  specialty  of  raising  draft  horses, 
both  Percheron  and  Norman,  and  was  the  owner  of  some  very  fine  stock.  He 
took  a  great  interest  in  fine  horses  and  exhibited  at  various  fairs  where  lie 
carried  otf  many  premiums. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meikle  were  born  four  children:  George,  now  living 
at  Kiester,  Minnesota ;  Maggie,  the  wife  of  A.  Kiplinger  of  Piper  City ;  Jennie, 
at  home;  and  John,  who  is  living  upon  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Brenton 
township. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  IMeikle  was  a  stalwart  republican,  interested  iu 
the  growth  and  success  of  the  party.  He  held  some  school  and  road  offices 
and  was  most  loyal  in  citizenship,  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  promote 
the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  his  community.  He  held  membership  in  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  lived  an  upright,  consistent  Christian  life,  winning 
for  him  the  warm  regard  of  all  with  whom  he  came  iu  contact.       In  his  busi- 


410  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

ness,  too,  he  was  energetic,  diligent  and  reliable,  and  in  addition  to  his  home 
place  of  one  hnndred  and  sixty  acres  in  Brenton  township  he  owned  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  of  land  in  Livingston  county.  He  possessed  many  of 
the  sterling  characteristics  of  the  Scotch  people  and  his  death  Avas  an  occasion 
of  deep  and  wide-spread  regret,  for  he  had  many  friends  in  the  county. 

For  about  eighteen  years  INIrs.  ]\Ieikle  has  now  resided  in  Piper  City,  where 
she  owns  a  pleasant  and  well  kept  home.  She  also  has  good  income  property, 
including  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Brenton  township  which 
she  received  from  her  father's  estate.  She  has  a  wide  and  favorable  aecjuain- 
tance  in  the  community  and  the  hospitality  of  many  of  the  best  homes  is 
cordiallv  extended  to  her. 


L.  D.  JACKSON. 


L.  D.  Jackson  is  and  has  been  connected  with  so  many  important  interests 
of  the  county  as  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  its  leading  citizens,  closely  associated 
with  those  interests  which  have  promoted  its  upbuilding  and  formulated  its 
policy.  He  was  born  in  Dearborn  county.  Indiana,  September  17,  1864,  and 
is  a  son  of  William  and  Delia  Jackson,  who  were  likewise  natives  of  the  same 
county  and  are  still  living  there.  The  father  has  always  followed  farming, 
employing  that  as  a  source  of  livelihood.  Unto  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Jackson  were 
born  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  namely :  Charles  A.,  a  resident  of  ]\Ian- 
chester,  Indiana;  L.  D.,  of  this  review;  Warren  T.  and  Thomas  J.,  both 
residents  of  Ford  county;  Tinnie,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Kirkwood,  of  Osburn, 
Ohio;  and  Lulu,  the  wife  of  Nathan  Griggs,  of  Manchester,  Indiana. 

As  boy  and  youth  L.  D.  Jackson  became  familiar  with  the  work  of  the 
farm,  aiding  his  father  in  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the  fields  until 
after  he  had  attained  his  majority.  He  attended  the  common  schools  and 
thus  acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  English  branches  of  learning.  When 
he  had  reached  man's  estate  lie  rented  one  of  his  father's  farms  and  for  three 
years  continued  its  cultivation,  when  he  sought  a  home  in  Ford  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  for  three  years  cultivated  rented  land.  During  this  period  he  care- 
fully saved  his  earnings,  and  his  wise  expenditure  and  untiring  industry 
hrouglit  him  the  capital  that  enabled  him  to  invest  in  property.  He  then 
bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  section  14,  Brenton  township, 
and  began  its  improvement  by  tiling  and  adding  other  necessar^^  and  modern 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  411 

equipments.  He  has  erected  good  buildings,  has  utilized  the  latest  improved 
machinery  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  farm  and  has  today  a  tine  property, 
presenting  a  splendid  appearance  in  its  well  tilled  fields  and  substantial  build- 
ings. Mr.  Jackson  is  also  secretary  of  the  Forld  County  Fair  and  Driving 
Association  and  a  director  of  the  Bell  Union  Telephone  Company,  No.  1. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Jackson  is  an  earnest  democrat  and  desiring  the 
success  of  the  party  has  labored  in  local  fields  for  its  advancement.  Since 
1899  he  has  served  as  assesor,  being  continued  in  the  office  through  reelection. 
He  is  also  a  commissioner  of  the  drainage  ditch  and  for  five  years  has  been 
chairman  of  the  democratic  committee. 

In  1886  occurred  the  marriage  of  L.  D.  Jackson  and  Miss  Emma  J.  Judd, 
Avho  was  born  in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  in  1863,  a  daughter  of  Orin  and 
Mary  Jane  Judd,  who  were  likewise  natives  of  that  state  but  are  both  now 
deceased.  ]\Irs.  Judd  was  one  of  five  children  and  by  her  marriage  has 
become  the  mother  of  two  sons,  Orin  AV.  and  Charles  E.,  the  former  now  a 
pupil  in  the  high  school  of  Piper  City. 

Mr.  Jackson  belongs  to  that  class  of  men  who  have  realized  that  success 
is  not  an  unattainable  thing  and  also  understands  the  fact  that  it  is  acquired 
only  through  diligence  and  indefatigable  labor.  He  has  worked  persistently 
and  his  labors  have  been  crowned  with  a  measure  of  success  that  makes  him 
one  of  the  substantial  agriculturists  of  his  part  of  the  county. 


E.  F.  DUCKWORTH. 

E.  F.  Duckworth,  engaged  in  the  hardware  and  lumber  business  at  Cabery, 
owning  an  equal  interest  with  Mr.  Keighin  in  a  large  and  well  selected  stock 
of  goods,  is  a  young  man  of  marked  enterprise,  of  tireless  energy,  of  keen 
perception  and  honesty  of  purpose.  He  was  born  in  Iro(|uois  county,  Illinois, 
January  21,  1870,  his  parents  being  Richard  and  Susan  Duckworth,  who  were 
natives  of  the  state  of  New  York.  Removing  westward,  they  settled  in  Ken- 
dall county,  Illinois,  in  1863  and  are  now  residents  of  Iroquois  county.  They 
became  the  parents  of  three  children,  of  whom  E.  M.  Duckworth  is  the  eldest, 
his  brothers,  Austin  and  William,  twins,  being  yet  at  home. 

E.  F.  Duckworth  was  also  reared  under  the  parental  roof  and  is  indebted 
to  the  pul)lic-scho()l  system  of  Illinois  for  the  educational  privileges  which  he 
enjoyed  and  to  the  Grand  Mercer  Seminary.       Lessons  of  industry,  integrity 


412  PIISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  enterprise  were  also  impressed  upon  his  mind  by  his  parents  in  his  youth 
and  after  he  had  attained  his  majority  he  became  a  feature  in  business  cir- 
cles, purchasing  a  hardware  store  at  Herscher,  where  he  continued  in  business 
for  three  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  sold  out  and  came  to 
Cabery,  where  he  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  hardware  and  lumber  busi- 
ness of  ]\lr.  Keighin.  They  have  an  excellent  trade,  which  is  constantly 
increasing,  and  in  their  business  interests  they  are  methodical,  systematic  and 
energetic. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1901,  "Sir.  Duckworth  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Caro- 
line jMusson.  whose  parents  are  now  residents  of  Watseka,  Illinois.  ]\Irs. 
Duckworth  is  their  only  surviving  child  and  by  her  marriage  she  has  become 
the  mother  of  one  daughter,  Lima  Margaret.  The  parents  are  consistent  and 
helpful  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  ]Mr.  Duckworth  belongs  to 
the  Odd  Fellows  lodge  at  Herscher,  while  both  he  and  his  wife  are  connected 
with  the  Rebekah  degree.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican,  interested  in  the 
growth  and  success  of  the  party.  His  business  success  is  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  in  their  business  the  firm  aim  at  high  standard  in  the  character  of 
the  goods  which  they  carry  and  in  their  service  to  the  public  and  meet  compe- 
tition in  a  rivalry  of  merit  rather  than  in  a  war  of  prices.  Their  business,  too, 
is  permeated  by  a  spirit  of  courtesy,  thoroughness,  enthusiasm,  energy  and 
progressiveness. 


PETER  WAGNER. 

The  name  of  Peter  Wagner  is  so  closely  associated  with  the  liistory  of 
Cabery,  its  progress  and  upbuilding,  as  to  render  it  imperative  that  mention 
be  made  of  him  in  this  connection.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  enterprise  and 
strength  of  purpose,  of  keen  discernment  and  of  public  spirit,  and  while  pro- 
moting his  individual  success  he  also  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  the 
general  welfare.  Moreover,  there  was  not  an  esoteric  phase  in  liis  career  but 
on  the  contrary  his  methods  were  such  as  neither  sought  nor  required  disguise 
l:)ut  would  bear  the  closet  investigation. 

Mr.  AVagner  was  born  in  Ti-icr  cily  in  the  Rliinc  province  of  Germany,  in 
1843,  and  arrived  in  Ford  county  in  1863  when  a  young  man  of  twenty  years 
to  join  his  older  brother.  Upon  reaching  his  destination,  however,  he  found 
that  his  brother  had  been  drafted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war.       ]\Ir.  Wagner, 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  413 

wlio  \vas  then  single,  decided  that  he  had  better  go  in  place  of  his  brother,  who 
was  married  and  had  a  family.  Accordingly  he  immediately  joined  the  army 
and  left  for  the  south.  He  did  not  understand  a  word  of  English  and  felt 
handicapped  and  embarrassed,  so  he  bought  a  dictionary  and  at  once  began 
to  study  the  language.  The  regiment  to  which  he  belonged  was  assigned  to 
duty  with  Sherman's  army  and  while  with  that  command  JMr.  Wagner  became 
ill  of  malaria  and  was  sent  to  the  hospital  in  Chicago,  where  he  remained  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  The  spirit  of  unselfishness  which  he  displayed  in  taking 
his  brother's  place  was  ever  one  of  his  marked  characteristics  and  won  for 
him  in  large  measure  the  warm  regard  of  those  with  whom  he  was  associated. 

When  the  war  was  over  Mr.  Wagner  returned  to  Ford  county  and  devoted 
his  life  to  farming  and  other  business  pursuits.  ITis  investments  were  .judi- 
ciously made,  his  business  interests  were  carefully  conducted  and  his  enterprise 
and  diligence  were  the  salient  characteristics  of  his  success.  He  left  a  fine 
estate  on  the  county  line  of  Ford  and  Kankakee  counties,  comprising  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  constituting  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  Rogers 
township  and  sixty  acres  across  the  road  in  Norton  township,  Kankakee  county. 
He  brought  his  land  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  transforming  his  land 
into  rich  and  productive  fields  which  were  carefully  operated  and  brought  him 
a  gratifying  annual  income.  When  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  was  built 
through,  by  making  to  the  company  a  heavy  donation,  he  induced  them  to  build 
a  station  where  Cabery  now  stands  on  the  Kankakee  side.  He  then  platted 
his  land  and  erected  a  number  of  buildings  and  assisted  in  many  ways  to  found 
the  town  and  establish  it  upon  a  growing  basis.  He  built  the  Cabery  Tile  & 
Brick  Works  and  was  the  pioneer  tile  manufacturer  in  the  Panhandle  of  Ford 
county.  He  was  also  the  first  to  lay  tile  and  promote  the  drainage  and  work 
which  has  been  of  inestimable  value  to  Ford  county,  for  thus  much  low  and 
swampy  land  has  been  reclaimed  for  the  purposes  of  cultivation  and  is  today 
rich  agricultural  property,  contributing  in  substantial  measure  to  the  pros- 
perity of  this  part  of  the  state. 

After  his  military  service  had  ended  Mr.  Wagner  returned  to  Germany, 
where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Bosen,  to  whom  he  had  become  betrothed 
in  his  youth.  She  was  a  native  of  Trier  city,  of  the  Rhine  province,  and  fol- 
lowing their  marriage  Mr.  Wagner  returned  with  his  bride  to  the  United  States 
and  spent  his  remaining  days  in  Cabery  with  the  exception  of  two  years  passed 
in  Chicago.  He  died  in  Cabery  in  1892,  when  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age, 
and  his  wife  survived  him  for  about  nine  years,  passing  away  in  1901  in  her 
fifty-fourth  year.       She  was  one  of  a  family  of  eleven  children,  ten  of  whom 


414  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

are  yet  living",  and  IMr.  AVagner  was  one  of  a  family  of  three  children.  Unto 
them  were  born  three  sons  and  two  daughters :  John,  now  a  resident  of  Kan- 
kakee; Anna,  the  wife  of  ^Matt  Seiwert,  of  Chicago;  Kate,  the  wife  of  Fred 
Schneider,  of  Kankakee;  Peter  N.,  who  resides  at  the  old  home  in  Cabery  and 
manages  the  estate ;  and  Frank,  at  home. 

Mr.  Wagner  was  a  man  of  marked  enterprise  and  i)ublic  spirit,  whose 
cooperation  could  always  be  counted  upon  to  further  any  movement  that 
tended  to  promote  the  welfare  or  advance  the  interests  of  Cabery  and  the 
county.  He  was  liberal  in  his  donations  to  all  public  movements  of  this  char- 
acter. His  own  home  in  Cabery  was  a  large,  fine  dwelling  in  the  west  part 
of  the  town,  a  portion  of  his  farm  lying  within  the  corporation  limits  of  the 
village.  Upon  the  place  were  also  good  outbuildings  and  all  of  the  equipments 
of  a  model  farm.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Wagner  was  a  stalwart  demo- 
crat and  filled  all  of  the  village  offices,  being  unanimously  elected  president  of 
the  village.  No  trust  reposed  in  him  was  ever  betrayed  in  the  slightest  degree 
and  on  the  contrary  his  life  record  furnishes  a  splendid  example  for  emula- 
tion, because  of  his  reliability  and  progressiveness  in  citizenship,  his  trust- 
worthiness in  business  and  his  devotion  to  the  ties  of  home  and  friendship. 

Peter  N.  Wagner,  to  whom  we  are  indel)ted  for  the  sketch  of  his  father, 
is  living  upon  the  farm  where  he  was  born,  Jidy  21,  1880.  He  has  always 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  and  is  accounted  one  of  the  progressive  and  ener- 
getic young  men  of  Caliery.  As  a  voter  he  is  a  republican,'  giving  loyal  sup- 
port to  that  party  and  is  now  serving  as  one  of  the  village  trustees. 


ANDREW  JORDAN. 

Andrew  Jordan,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Ford  county  and  one  of  her 
most  successful  farmers,  was  the  owner  of  eight  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
very  fine  land,  his  home  being  situated  on  section  18.  Dnniimcr  township.  A 
man  of  enterprising  and  progressive  spirit,  he  l)r()iight  his  farm  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  placing  therecm  excellent  buildings  aiul  nuuiy  substantial 
improvements. 

Mr.  Jordan  was  l)()rn  near  Louisville,  Kentucky,  August  28,  1828,  his  parents 
being  William  aiul  Lovica,  (Brooks)  Jordan,  both  of  wlioni  were  natives  of 
Virginia  and  located  in  Kentucky  about  1818.  A  few  years  later  they  removed 
to  Monroe  county,  near  Gosport,  Indiana,  where  they  spent  the  remainder  of 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY^  417 

their  lives.  The  father  died  about  1855  and  the  mother  about  1849.  By 
occupation  he  was  a  farmer  and  ever  folhnved  tliat  business  for  a  livelihood. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  were  adherents  of  the  Baptist  church  and  his  political 
allegiance  was  given  to  the  democracy. 

Our  subject  was  fifth  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  twelve  children.  He 
received  but  a  limited  education  and  remained  with  his  parents  until  he  had 
attained  his  majority,  when  he  started  out  in  life  for  himself.  With  a  horse 
and  fifteen  dollars  in  money,  he  located  near  Virginia,  Cass  county,  Illinois,  and 
began  work  as  a  farm  hand,  receiving  thirteen  dollars  per  month.  In  the  fall 
of  1850.  he  returned  to  Indiana  and  after  a  short  time  went  to  Bloomington, 
Illinois,  where  he  worked  for  about  six  months.  He  then  became  a  resident  of 
Cass  county,  Illinois,  where  he  was  engaged  as  a  farm  hand.  Once  more  he 
returned  to  Indiana  and  subsequently  located  in  Champaign  county,  Illinois, 
having  purchased  one  hundred  acres  of  land.  A  year  later,  however,  he  ex- 
changed farms  with  his  father-in-law,  receiving  eighty  acres,  which  ]Mr.  Devore 
had  entered  from  the  government. 

Mr.  Jordan  was  married,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1852,  to  IMiss  Amanda 
Devore,  who  was  born  near  Gosport,  Owen  county,  Indiana,  March  16,  1835,  a 
daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Polly  (Hartzog)  Devore,  who  were  of  German  lineage. 
Tliey  were  also  members  of  the  Christian  church,  and  in  politics  Mr.  Devore  was 
a  stalwart  republican.  Immediately  after  their  marriage  our  subject  and  liis 
wife  settled  on  their  farm  in  Champaign  county,  but  in  March,  1854,  came  to 
Ford  county.  From  time  to  time  he  added  to  his  possessions  until  he  became  the 
owner  of  eleven  hundred  acres,  but  afterward  sold  a  portion  of  it  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  owned  eight  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  valuable  land.  He 
also  owned  and  operated  one  of  the  largest  brick  and  tile  works  in  the  county 
and,  in  connection  with  his  farming,  raised  a  fine  grade  of  horses  and  cattle. 
His  well  directed  labor  and  untiring  perseverance  brought  to  him  a  most  grati- 
fying measure  of  success  as  the  years  went  by  and  he  was  widely  recognized  as  a 
prosperous  and  influential  citizen  of  the  community.  In  the  early  days  of  his 
residence  in  this  county  he  underwent  all  the  hardships  and  trials  of  frontier 
life.  The  first  home  of  the  family  was  a  log  cabin,  and  they  did  their  first  corn 
planting  under  trying  circumstances.  Mr.  Jordan  would  take  the  baby  (their 
son  William)  in  his  arms  and  plow  for  a  time,  while  his  wife  would  drop  the 
corn.  At  length  he  fixed  a  box  on  top  of  the  plow  and,  placing  the  little  fellow 
in  that,  resumed  his  work.  IMarkets  were  far  distant,  and  Paxton,  Loda, 
Elliott,  Gibson,  IMelvin  and  Sibley,  all  now  thriving  towns,  were  not  then  laid 
out.      They  saw  the  introduction  of  all  the  railroads  in  this  part  of  the  county 


418  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  were  eye  witnesses  of  much  of  the  growtli  and  development  of  this 
community. 

Five  children  were  born  unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jordan :  William,  who  has  been 
identified  Avith  farming  in  Sibley;  James,  who  carries  on  general  agricultural 
pursuits  on  section  24.  Drummer  township ;  John,  a  successful  farmer  and  tile 
manufacturer,  residing  on  section  24,  Drummer  township ;  Lizzie,  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Campbell ;  and  Charles,  who  cultivates  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land 
on  section  24,  Drummer  township,  a  part  of  his  father's  estate. 

The  parents  were  people  of  benevolent  disposition,  holding  membership 
with  the  Christian  church  in  Gibson  and  taking  an  active  interest  in  its  work. 
Church  and  Sunday  school  were  held  in  their  home  and  that  of  their  neighbors 
in  the  early  days.  In  the  fall  of  1890  IMr.  Jordan  donated  two  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  brick  for  the  beautiful  church  edifice  in  which  he  worshiped 
and  which  stands  as  a  monument  to  his  benevolence.  In  1861  the  first  township 
and  the  first  presidential  elections  in  Drummer  township  were  held  in  his  home. 

]\Ir.  Jordan  was  tli,e  first  supervisor  of  Drummer  township,  which  office  he 
filled  for  two  years,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  honored  and  promi- 
nent citizens  of  the  county.  In  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  and  every 
trust  reposed  in  him,  he  won  the  confidence  and  high  regard  of  all  and  when  he 
was  called  to  his  final  rest  on  the  28th  day  of  June,  1901,  the  county  mourned 
the  loss  of  one  of  its  worthy  and  respected  pioneers. 


THOMAS  REYNOLDS. 

Thomas  Reynolds  is  the  owner  of  an  excellent  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  situated  alxiut  a  (piarter  of  a  mile  west  of  Guthrie  in  Dix  township 
and  his  life  is  devoted  to  its  further  development  and  improvement  with  the 
result  that  he  has  made  it  a  valuable  property,  from  which  he  annually  derives 
a  gratifying  income.  He  was  born  near  Russellville,  Kentucky,  in  1843.  His 
parents,  AVilliam  and  Elizabeth  (Edgar)  Reynolds,  are  l)otli  now  deceased.  The 
father  was  a  fanner  of  Kentucky  and  died  in  that  state  when  his  son  Thomas 
was  but  six  years  of  age.  The  mother  long  survived  and  passed  away  in  1901 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  Tlieir  fainil\'  luimbered  six  children  :  P.  F., 
wlio  is  now  living  in  Kansas;  ]\Iary,  who  is  living  with  her  sister,  P.  F. ;  Joseph, 
deceased;  Thomas,  of  this  review;  Joseph,  the  second  of  the  name,  who  has 
also  passed  away;  and    Klizabeth,  deceased. 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  419 

Thomas  Reynolds  was  a,  youth  of  about  eleven  years  when  he  came  to 
Illinois  with  his  mother  in  1854,  the  family  home  being  established  in  Logan 
county,  where  he  acquired  his  education  as  a  pupil  in  the  district  school.  He 
started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  and  has 
since  been  dependent  entirely  upon  his  own  resources.  He  was  married  in 
1869  to  Miss  Malinda  J.  Sumner,  a  daughter  of  Norman  Sumner,  a  farmer  of 
Logan  county,  who  is  now  deceased,  as  is  his  wife. 

In  the  year  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Reynolds  removed  to  Ford  county  and 
settled  a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  Guthrie  on  section  30,  Dix  township.  He 
had  in  1867  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  laud  here  and  later 
he  bought  eighty  acres  more,  so  that  he  now  owns  two  hundred  and  forty  acres 
in  all.  Here  he  follows  general  farming  and  is  accounted  one  of  the  progres- 
sive and  wide-aw^ake  agriculturists  of  the  community.  In  the  midst  of  his 
place  stands  a  nice  farm  residence  facing  Guthrie,  the  village  being  only  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  east,  while  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  passes  just 
south  of  the  house,  extending  in  a  southwesterly  direction.  Everything  about 
the  place  is  kept  in  excellent  condition  and  the  neat  and  thrifty  appearance 
of  the  farm  indicates  the  careful  supervision  and  untiring  efforts  of  the  owner. 
He  has  put  all  of  the  improvements  upon  the  place  and  has  tiled  the  laud,  mak- 
ing it  very  productive.  It  was  very  wet  when  it  came  into  his  possession  and 
for  it  he  paid  only  eight  dollars  per  acre  but  it  is  now  classed  with  the  fine 
farms  of  this  rich  agricultural  section. 

Unto  ]\Ir.  and  ]\Irs.  Reynolds  have  been  born  six  children :  William,  who 
married  Amanda  Duclos  and  is  living  in  Kankakee,  Illinois ;  Robert  and  Frank, 
at  home;  Ora,  Effie  and  Fannie,  who  are  also  at  home.  The  children  have 
been  provided  with  excellent  educational  advantages.  William  and  Robert 
were  students  in  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  College  at  Valparaiso,  which 
Frank  also  attended,  while  later  he  was  graduated  on  the  completion  of  a  busi- 
ness course  at  Dixon,  Illinois.  Ora  is  a  graduate  of  the  Gibson  high  school 
and  attended  the  Normal  School  for  two  summers.  Effie  likewise  graduated 
from  the  Gibson  high  school,  and  Fannie  completed  a  course  there  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1908. 

Mr.  Reynolds  has  always  been  loyal  in  citizenship  and  at  the  time  of  the  Civil 
war  enlisted  in  1864  as  a  member  of  Company  D,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth 
Illinois  Infantry,  in  Logan  county,  remaining  with  that  command  until  hon- 
orably discharged  in  September  of  the  same  year.  Ilis  political  allegiance  has 
always  been  given  to  the  republican  party  and  he  keeps  well  informed  on  the 
questions  and  issues  of  the  day.      He  has  served  as  school  trustee  for  eight  years 


420  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  also  as  road  cominissioner,  yet  has  never  been  a  politician  in  the  sense  of 
office  seeking.  Both  he  and  his  Avife  are  members  of  the  Christian  church  and 
the  family  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  community?  the  hospitality  of  the  best 
homes  being  freely  accorded  them. 


NATHAN  MILLER  HIGGINS. 

In  a  history  of  the  representative  men  of  Ford  county  who  have  contributed 
to  its  development  and  substantial  progress  and  who  through  intelligently 
directed  labor  have  achieved  success,  mention  should  be  made  of  Nathan  Miller 
Higgins,  who  departed  this  life  on  the  10th  of  March,  1907.  He  was  uniformly 
respected,  not  alone  because  of  the  success  he  achieved  b^^t  also  by  reason  of 
the  honorable,  straightforward  methods  which  he  ever  followed. 

His  birth  occurred  in  Huntington,  Massachusetts,  October  29,  1845,  and 
he  was  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy  or 
early  childhood.  He  lost  his  father  when  about  ten  years  of  age  and  was 
left  an  orphan  by  his  mother's  death  when  he  was  a  youth  of  fifteen.  He 
remained  a  resident  of  INIassachusetts  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  when  he 
started  for  the  middle  west,  settling  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  where  he  was 
employed  in  a  store  for  about  two  years.  From  there  he  w^ent  to  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  and  in  the  fall  of  1866  joined  his  1)rother  Prentice  at  Elmwood,  Illi- 
nois, and  worked  as  a  farm  hand  in  liis  brother's  employ  until  the  fall  of 
1869. 

That  date  witnessed  his  arrival  in  Ford  county.  He  investigated  the  farm 
property  for  sale  and  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  to  which 
he  removed  the  following  spring,  making  his  home  tliereafter  in  this  county 
until  he  Avas  called  to  liis  final  rest.  Later  he  added  to  the  original  tract  until 
he  became  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  on  section  34,  Brenton 
township.  He  made  all  of  the  improvements  on  the  first  tract  but  the  eighty 
acre  tract  which  he  purchased  was  somewhat  improved  when  it  came  into  his 
possession.  He  regarded  real  estate  as  the  safest  of  all  investments  and  there- 
fore placed  his  money  in  property.  The  home  farm  was  brought  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation  through  his  energy  and  diligence  and  as  his  financial 
resources  increased  he  added  to  his  property  from  time  to  time  until  he  acquired 
three  other  farms  in  this  vicinity,  two  of  eighty  acres  and  one  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres.       He  likewise  invested  in  a  half  section   of  land  in  South 


I 

I 


MR.  AND  MRS.  NATHAN   M.  HIGGINS 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  42:.i 

Dakota  and  later  an  additional  quarter  section,  and  thus  from  his  property 
interests  derived  a  gratifying  income.  He  was  also  stockholder  in  and  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  tlie  Thawville  tile  factory  for  a  number  of  years. 

On  the  12tli  of  March,  1872,  Mr.  Higgins  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Jane 
IMosher,  who  was  born  near  Fonda,  New  York,  November  25,  1849,  and  was 
brought  to  the  middle  west  at  the  age  of  six  years  by  her  parents,  Alexander 
and  Elizabeth  (McLaughlin)  ]\Iosher,  who  were  natives  of  New  York  and  on 
removing  to  Illinois  settled  at  Elmwood.  In  1877  they  came  to  Ford  county 
and  took  up  their  abode  one  mile  south  of  the  farm  upon  which  Mrs.  Higgins 
resides.  There  the  death  of  the  husband  and  father  occurred,  after  which 
the  other  members  of  the  family  removed  to  Roberts.  Unto  Mr.  and  I\lrs. 
Higgins  were  born  six  children :  ]\Iary  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  William  Gard- 
ner of  Fisher;  Charles,  living  at  home  with  his  mother;  Nathan  Le  Roy,  a 
resident  of  Chicago;  Aleck  Prentice,  Effie  Estella  and  Milo  Edwin,  all  at 
home. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Higgins  was  a  stalwart  republican  and  held 
some  school  offices  but  otherwise  did  not  care  for  political  preferment  although 
he  was  loyal  to  the  principles  in  which  he  believed.  He  was  a  man  of  domes- 
tie  tastes,  quiet  and  retiring  in  disposition,  devoted  to  his  family,  his  interest 
centering  in  his  home.  He  was  a  self-made  man  and  owed  his  success  to  his 
close  application  and  unremitting  diligence.  He 'always  rose  very  early  to 
attend  to  his  business  and  the  story  of  his  early  rising  became  proverbial  in 
the  neighborhood.  On  one  occasion  several  farmers  of  the  neighborhood  pur- 
chased nursery  stock  together  and  it  was  delivered  at  Onarga,  about  eleven 
miles  from  Mr.  Higgins'  home.  One  of  the  neighbors,  who  has  also  been  a 
purchaser  of  the  stock,  thought  to  himself,  "I'll  get  ahead  of  him  once  by  going 
early  to  Onarga.  I  will  draw  the  shades  that  he  may  not  see  the  light  and 
will  think  that  I  am  still  sleeping."  He  carried  out  his  plan  of  rising  early 
but  when  he  got  half  way  to  Onarga  he  met  Mr.  Higgins  on  his  way  home 
with  the  trees.  He  still  persisted,  however,  that  the  joke  was  partly  on  Mr. 
Higgins  because  he  had  wandered  two  miles  out  of  his  way.  In  those  early 
days  there  were  no  regularly  laid  out  roads  so  that  it  was  not  a  difficult  thing 
for  a  traveler  to  wander  from  the  path.  Mr.  Higgins  was  never  neglectful 
of  duty  but  on  the  contrary  did  ably  and  well  everything  that  he  undertook 
and  as  the  years  passed  he  gained  a  gratifying  measure  of  prosperity. 

With  his  wife  he  spent  two  winters  in  Florida  and  one  in  Texas  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health  but  death  claimed  him  on  the  10th  of  March,  1907,  when 
he  was  in  his  sixty-second  year.       His  life  record  is  in  many  respects  worthy 


424  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

of  emulation  as  it  indicates  what  may  be  accomplished  when  one  has  determi- 
nation and  energy.  It  was  those  qualities  which  made  I\Ir.  Higgins  one  of  tin; 
representative  farmers  of  Brenton  township  and  Ford  county,  while  the 
straightforward  business  principles  which  he  advocated  gained  for  him  the 
respect  of  his  fellowmen.  He  was  always  straiglitforward  in  his  dealings  and 
just  in  his  relations  and,  moreover,  he  possessed  a  kindly  spirit,  which  was 
particularly  manifest  at  his  own  fireside. 


REV.  ROBERT  I\rcCRACKEN. 

Rev.  Robert  McCracken,  a  pioneer  of  Paxton,  devoted  many  years  of  his 
life  to  the  active  work  of  the  ministry  and,  moreover,  was  a  most  successful 
business  man,  his  life  record  standing  in  emphatic  contradiction  of  the  state- 
ment made  by  many  that  business  success  and  honesty  are  incompatible.  He 
became  one  of  the  largest  landowners  of  Ford  comity  and  yet  throughout  his 
entire  business  career  he  was  regarded  as  the  soul  of  commercial  honor  and 
integrity.  His  memory  is  indeed  sacredly  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  knew  him  and  remains  as  a  blessed  benediction  to  his  family  and  his  many 
friends  who  survive  him. 

Rev.  Robert  McCracken  was  born  in  Castlewellyn,  County  Dow^n,  Ireland, 
in  the  year  1815.  Early  in  life  his  parents  dedicated  him  to  the  ministry 
and  much  of  his  boyhood  was  spent  away  from  home  in  attending  school.  In 
1844  he  was  graduated  from  the  Royal  College  of  Belfast,  Ireland,  and  after 
preaching  one  of  his  trial  sermons  before  a  presbytery  in  his  native  land  with 
his  parents  as  interested  and  appreciative  listeners  he  left  home  for  America, 
arriving  in  this  country  in  the  spring  of  1845  to  devote  his  life  to  ministerial 
labor  in  the  new  world.  His  first  pastorate  was  at  Austintown,  Ohio,  where 
he  accepted  a  call  from  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church,  commonly  called 
New  School  Covenanter.  He  was  there  installed  May  29,  1848,  and  continued 
his  pastoral  labors  at  Austintown  until  1851,  when  he  accepted  a  call  from  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  cliurch  at  Wurtemburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  labored 
for  tlie  upbuilding  of  the  congregation  until  1857. 

That  year  witnessed  llic  arrival  of  Rev.  jMcCracken  in  Illinois.  He  became 
pastor  of  the  Walnut  Hill  congregation  near  Centralia  and  in  1860  came  to 
this  part  of  the  state,  filling  various  pulpits  prior  to  accepting  the  call  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  congregation  at  Paxton.       He  removed  with  his  family  to 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  425 

this  city  early  in  1861.  The  congregation  at  that  time  numbered  only  seven- 
teen but  at  the  first  communion  seventeen  new  members  were  received.  Rev. 
MeCracken  continued  as  pastor  of  the  congregation  until  April,  1865,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Truesdale.  In  the  meantime  the  membership  of 
the  church  had  largely  increased,  seventy-five  new  members  being  added  at  the 
last  two  conmiunions  at  which  Rev.  MeCracken  presided.  This  was  his  last 
pastoral  charge  and  yet  his  interest  in  the  church  never  waned.  He  was 
tliroughout  life  an  active  factor  in  all  those  movements  for  reform,  progress 
and  improvement  and  for  the  amelioration  of  hard  conditions  of  life  for  the 
unfortunate. 

Soon  after  coming  to  Paxton.  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  friends,  Rev. 
MeCracken  consented  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  county  superin- 
tendent of  schools  and  was  elected,  serving  for  two  years,  during  which  time 
he  did  important  service  in  establishing  the  public-school  system  of  Ford 
county  upon  an  excellent  basis.  The  cause  of  public  instruction  ever  found 
in  him  a  stalwart  champion  and  for  several  years  he  did  effective  work  in 
behalf  of  Paxton 's  schools  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Rice  Collegiate  Institute  and  gave  to  it  his 
earnest  support  until  failing  health  in  large  measure  compelled  him  to  retire 
from  activitj  in  public  affairs.  In  antebellum  daj^s  he  was  a  stanch  advocate 
of  abolition  and  took  an  active  interest  in  politics  at  that  time  when  every 
true  American  citizen  was  aroused  to  express  his  views  concerning  the  great 
issues  that  dominated  public  attention  prior  to  the  Civil  war.  He  joined  the 
republican  party  on  its  organization  and  remained  one  of  its  stalwart  cham- 
pions throughout  the  residue  of  his  days.  He  was  also  greatly  interested  in 
the  cause  of  temperance  and  threw  the  energies  of  his  mind  and  soul  against 
the  licensing  of  saloons,  contributing  largely  through  his  influence  toward  the 
creation  of  the  temperance  sentiment  in  Paxton  in  earlier  days.  For  four 
years  he  was  a  resident  of  Hoopeston  but  returned  to  Paxton  and  continued 
to  reside  here  until  his  death.  He  remained  a  member  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian church  until  after  his  return  to  Paxton.  when  he  and  his  family 
became  members  of  the  Congregational  church. 

On  the  29th  day  of  May,  1849,  Rev.  Robert  IMcCracken  was  married  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Hogg,  of  Canfield,  Ohio,  who  was  ever  a  true  helpmate,  a 
wise  counselor  and  a  comforting  companion  to  him.  They  became  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  four  of  whom  died  in  childhood,  three  of  the  number  passing 
away  within  three  weeks.  The  others  are:  David  P.,  Robert  A.  and  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Thompson,  who  are  residents  of  Paxton;  Mrs.  T.  J\I.  Kell,  of  Los 


426  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

Angeles,  California;  G.  Ewing,  of  Bloomfield,  Indiana;  and  Mrs.  Frances  W. 
Best,  of  Waj^nesburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  devoted  to  his  family  and  at 
his  own  fireside  was  ever  a  loving  husband  and  fond  father,  interested  in  all 
that  interested  his  children  and  putting  forth  every  effort  possible  for  their 
welfare  and  happiness. 

In  his  business  life  Rev.  i\IcCracken  won  a  gratifying  measure  of  success. 
During  his  residence  in  Iloopeston  he  was  engaged  in  merchandising  but  his 
time  and  attention  were  largely  given  to  his  investments  in  realty  and  his  farm- 
ing interests.  He  became  one  of  the  most  extensive  landowners  of  central 
Illinois,  purchasing  farm  after  farm  of  the  rich  prairie  land  until  his  posses- 
sions aggregated  more  than  four  thousand  acres.  In  all  of  his  business 
transactions  he  was  thoroughly  reliable,  never  being  known  to  take  advantage 
of  the  necessities  of  another  in  a  business  transaction.  His  success  came  to 
him  because  of  his  sound  judgment,  his  keen  sagacity,  his  unflagging  enter- 
prise and  unabating  diligence.  During  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  he  was 
in  ill  health  but  his  mental  faculties  remained  unimpaired  and  but  a  few  days 
prior  to  his  death  he  transacted  some  business  with  one  of  his  tenants. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1904,  he  passed  away,  having  lived  to  complete 
nearly  nine  decades.  He  ever  stood  in  support  of  what  he  deemed  to  be 
right  in  man's  relations  with  his  fellowmen,  giving  his  aid  and  influence  in 
support  of  the  great  movements  affecting  the  welfare  and  progress  of  state  an'l 
nation  and  at  the  same  time  neglecting  not  those  quieter  duties  of  the  every- 
day relations  of  life — the  little  kindly  ministries  to  family  and  friends,  the 
word  of  encouragement  and  wise  counsel  and  the  substantial  aid — when  such 
was  needed.  It  was  these  things  which  causes  the  memory  of  Rev.  Robert 
McCracken  to  be  cherished  by  all  who  knew  him. 


I 


CHARLES    A.    JORDAN. 

Charles  A.  Jordan,  who  cultivates  a  good  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  on  section  24,  Drummer  township,  a  part  of  liis  father's  estate,  is  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  prominent  families  of  Ford  county.  He 
was  born  in  this  county,  February  3,  1859.  About  five  years  before  his  father, 
Andrew  Jordan,  had  settled  here,  having,  however,  previously  lived  for  a  time 
in  Cass  and  Champaign  counties.  He  was  born  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  August 
28,  1828,  and  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.      He  was  reared  to  the  occupation  of 


HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY  427 

farming  and  throughout  his  entire  life  followed  that  pursuit.  On  leaving  the 
south,  lie  took  up  his  abode  in  Cass  county,  Illinois,  where  he  resided  for  a  time 
and  later  removed  to  Champaign  county,  where  he  made  his  home  until  coming 
to  Ford  county  in  March,  1854.  He  found  a  district  here  largely  wild  and 
unimproved  and  with  its  early  development  and  progress  was  closely  associated. 
He  first  purchased  one  hundred  acres  of  land  but  to  this  added  from  time  to  time 
as  his  financial  resources  increased  until  he  became  the  owner  of  eleven  hundred 
acres.  A  part  of  this  he  sold  prior  to  his  death,  owning,  however,  at  the  time 
of  his  demise  eight  hundred  acres  of  rich  and  valuable  Illinois  farm  land.  He 
was  a  man  of  resourceful  business  ability  and  did  not  confine  his  efforts  entirely 
to  agricultural  pursuits  but  also  became  identified  with  the  industrial  interests, 
owning  the  largest  brick  and  tile  factory  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He  gave 
two  hundred  thousand  brick  to  the  church  in  which  he  worshiped.  He  was 
interested  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  material  and  moral  development  of  the 
community  and  his  influence  was  ever  found  on  the  side  of  right  and  progress. 

In  the  district  schools  at  Wantwood  Charles  A.  Jordan  pursued  his  educa- 
tion to  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  after  which  he  devoted  his  entire  time  to  work 
upon  his  father's  farm.  He  had  previously  received  training  in  that  line  of 
activity  through  the  assistance  which  he  had  rendered  in  the  development  of  the 
fields  in  the  periods  of  vacation.  Having  reached  man's  estate,  he  chose  as  a 
companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  Miss  Gertrude  Caldwell,  a  daughter 
•of  Michael  Caldwell,  of  Dix  township,  who  was  a  successful  farmer.  The 
wedding  was  celebrated  in  October,  1882,  and  unto  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Jordan  have 
been  born  the  following  named :  Moses  Edwin,  who  is  now  a  widower  and  has 
one  son ;  Bessie  ]\Iay  and  Charles  Elmer,  both  of  whom  are  deceased ;  Olive  Belle, 
living  at  home;  John  Loyd,  who  was  killed  by  the  cars;  Ralph,  who  attends 
school ;  Julia  Gertrude,  now  deceased ;  and  Walter,  also  at  home. 

Since  liis  marriage  Mr.  Jordan  has  devoted  his  entire  time  and  attention 
to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock-raising.  He  makes  a  specialty  of 
Percheron  horses  and  has  owned  and  sold  some  very  fine  specimens  of  this  breed. 
He  cultivates  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  belonging  to  his  father's  estate 
and  in  his  farm  work  has  been  very  successful,  the  splendid  apijearance  of  the 
place  indicating  his  careful  supervision  and  practical  methods.  He  belongs  to 
the  Court  of  Honor  and  to  the  Christian  church.  His  political  preference  is 
for  the  republican  party  and  he  has  served  as  school  director.  He  has  never 
sought  office,  however,  as  a  reward  for  party  fealty,  for  he  finds  that  his  tim(» 
and  attention  are  fully  occupied  by  his  complex  business  duties.  A  resident  of 
the  county  for  almost  a  half  century,  he  has  been  a  witness  of  much  of  its  growth 


428  HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY 

and  devt'lopnient  and  his  labors  have  l)een  an  element  in  its  substantial  develop- 
ment. The  Jordan  family  has  ever  figured  among  the  prominent  and  loading 
citizens  of  the  ( omnumitv  and  as  such  Charles  A.  Jordan  is  well  known. 


CAMPBELL  G.  BROTHERTON. 

In  Guthrie  and  throughout  this  section  of  Ford  county  the  name  of  Camp- 
bell G.  Brotherton  is  regarded  as  a  synonym  of  integrity,  for  over  the  record 
of  his  l)usiness  career  there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion  of  evil.  He 
possesses  unfaltering  diligence  and  his  labors  are  intelligently  directed  by  sound 
and  discriminating  judgment.  His  birth  occurred  in  Valley  Grove,  West  Vir- 
ginia, not  far  from  Wheeling,  in  1865.  His  parents  were  John  and  Mary 
(Gaston)  Brotherton,  the  former  a  farmer  by  occupation.  Their  son  Campbell 
was  only  about  a  year  old  when  his  father  died,  being  then  about  fifty  years 
of  age.  The  mother  came  to  Illinois  in  1878  and  located  on  a  farm  southeast 
of  Guthrie,  which  is  now  the  property  of  Richard  Bonnen. 

Campbell  G.  Brotherton  was  a  youth  of  thirteen  years  at  the  time  of  the 
removal  to  Illinois.  He  acquired  his  preliminary  education  in  tlie  district 
schools  and  afterward  continued  his  studies  in  the  Gibson  high  school,  thus 
qualifying  for  a  practical  and  responsible  business  career.  In  the  school  of 
experience  he  has  also  learned  many  valuable  lessons  and  from  the  incidents, 
contacts  and  experiences  of  life  he  has  learned  many  helpful  lessons.  He 
remained  at  home  until  seventeen  years  of  age  and  then  started  out  in  life  on 
his  own  account  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  P.  J.  Yager  in  Guthrie,  where  he 
continued  for  five  or  six  years  as  a  most  trustworthy  and  faithful  employe. 
Desiring  that  his  lal)ors  should  more  directly  benefit  himself,  he  then  began 
buying  grain  in  Guthrie  and  has  since  continued  in  the  business,  being  one  of 
the  well  known  grain  merchants  of  this  part  of  the  state.  In  the  fall  of  1898, 
in  association  with  Mr.  McClure,  he  built  an  elevator  and  at  the  same  time 
they  established  a  banking  business,  which  has  been  of  nuu-h  convenience  to 
the  p('0])le  of  the  district.  They  also  handle  lumber,  coal  and  tile  and  their 
trade  is  now  ([uite  extensive. 

In  September,  1889,  Mr.  Brotherton  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Addie 
L.  Minor,  a  daughter  of  J.  M.  and  Julia  Minor,  who  were  farming  people. 
Her  mother  is  now  deceased,  while  her  father  resides  upon  a  farm  near  Guthrie. 
Mrs.  Brotherton  was  born  in  1870  and  died  in  1902,  leaving  five  children:  Roy, 


> 

a 


33 
CO 


Q 


HISTORY   OF   FORD   COUNTY  431 

Floyd,  William,  Vernard  and  Edna,  all  yet  at  home.  Mr.  Brotherton  is 
devoted  to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  his  family  and  regards  no  personal 
effort  or  sacrifice  on  his  part  too  great  if  it  will  promote  the  welfare  and  inter- 
ests of  his  children. 

He  has  been  school  treasurer  for  about  fourteen  years  and  the  cause  of 
education  finds  in  him  a  stalwart  champion.  He  was  made  an  Odd  Fellow 
in  Gibson  City  Lodge,  No.  542,  I.  O.  0.  F.,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1889,  and 
became  a  charter  member  of  the  Guthrie  Lodge,  with  which  he  is  now  indent i- 
fied.  His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  democratic  party  and  his  religious 
faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  Viewed  in 
a  personal  light,  Mr.  Brotherton  is  a  strong  man,  strong  in  his  honor  and  his 
good  name,  strong  in  his  ability  to  plan  and  to  perform.  He  is  noted  through- 
out the  communit}^  for  his  honesty  and  the  citizens  of  Guthrie  and  the  vicinity 
speak  of  him  only  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise.  This  record  is  such  a  one 
as  any  man  might  be  proud  to  possess  and  it  has  won  for  him  the  entire  respect 
of  his  colleagues  and  the  admiration  of  his  contemporaries. 


WILLIAM  B.   HENDERSON. 

William  B.  Henderson  is  conducting  a  successful  wholesale  business  in  the 
manufacture  of  cigars  at  Paxton,  enjoying  a  large  local  trade,  the  product  of  his 
factory  being  almost  wholly  utilized  throughout  the  surrounding  district.  He 
was  born  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  December  3,  1855,  his  parents  being  Charles  E. 
and  Anna  (Boggs)  Henderson,  who  were  natives  of  Virginia  and  Ohio 
respectively. 

The  father  removed  westward  to  Ohio  when  a  young  man  and  engaged  in 
business  as  a  saddler  and  harness  maker.  In  1849  he  was  among  the  argonauts 
who  went  to  California  in  search  of  the  golden  fleece,  making  the  overland 
journey.  On  the  way  he  kept  a  journal  and  remained  in  the  mining  region  of 
the  Pacific  coast  for  two  years.  His  journal  contains  much  of  interest.  Witli 
friends  he  started  from  his  Ohio  home,  and  from  Independence,  Missouri,  then 
a  frontier  town  of  about  three  thousand  people,  started  in  a  wagon  train  across 
the  plains.  They  were  not  long  in  getting  out  upon  that  great  open  stretch  of 
the  country  where  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  for  miles  indicating  the  habita- 
tion or  existence  of  white  men.  On  their  journey  they  met  Indians  and  saw 
herds  of  deer  and  buffaloes.       At  times  they  traveled  along  streams  which  were 


432  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

bordered  by  timber,  which  furnished  material  for  fire,  while  the  stream  gave 
them  a  good  supply  of  water.  As  they  proceeded  westward  prices  became  very 
high.  They  thought  that  four  dollars  a  week  for  board  charged  iu  western 
Missouri  was  very  high  and  a  dollar  for  ferrying  a  wagon  and  twenty-five  cents 
for  a  team  was  much  in  advance  of  prices  that  they  had  formerly  known.  On 
reaching  Salt  Lake,  however,  the  Mormons  charged  them  four  dollars  for  ferry- 
ing the  wagon  across.  They  made  their  way  through  the  Rockies  in  the  midst 
of  mountain  scenery  of  picturesque  grandeur,  but  required  much  hard  climbing 
for  the  teams  and  men. 

Mr.  Henderson  was  quite  successful  in  California  and  after  two  years 
spent  there  returned  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  in  1852.  He  went 
through  all  the  experiences  of  frontier  mining  life  and  met  many  hardships  and 
difficulties.  On  one  occasion  on  the  trip  they  had  to  hang  a  man  for  stealing 
food  after  the  party  had  agreed  to  eat  only  a  certain  amount  per  day  as  the 
supply  was  becoming  exhausted.  In  1853,  soon  after  his  return,  Mr.  Henderson 
was  married  and  unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  three  children :  AVilliam  B., 
Harry  B.  and  Jennie  B.,  the  last  named  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Langford,  of  Paxton. 
]\Ir.  Henderson  died  September  15,  1891,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years,  while  his 
widow  is  still  living  in  Paxton.  He  took  quite  an  active  interest  in  politics  and 
was  serving  as  county  supervisor  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  present  jail 
and  sheriff's  residence  about  1870.  It  was  in  1864  that  he  became  a  resident  of 
Illinois,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Paxton,  where  he  remained  until  called  to  his 
final  rest.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  here  and  the  place  was  known  as 
Prospect  City.  As  the  years  passed  he  met  with  creditable  and  satisfactory 
success  in  his  business,  being  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  All  who 
knew  him  respected  him  for  his  many  sterling  traits  of  character  and  his  genuine 
worth. 

William  B.  Henderson  was  largely  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Paxton 
and  in  early  life  he  was  associated  with  his  father  in  various  business  pursuits. 
In  1877  he  went  to  the  west,  settling  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  where  he  resided 
for  seventeen  years  and  during  that  time  was  connected  with  difi^erent  business 
enterprises,  in  some  of  which  he  met  with  good  success.  In  1893,  however,  he 
returned  to  Paxton  and  established  a  wholesale  cigar  manufactory,  manufactur- 
ing a  high  grade  of  cigars,  which  found  a  ready  sale  in  Paxton  and  tlie  sur- 
rounding towns,  nearly  the;  entire  product  being  consumed  by  the  home  market, 
lie  is  an  energetic,  enterprising  business  man,  constantly  watchful  of 
opportunities  pointing  to  success,  while  his  methods  are  thoroughly  reliable  and 
trustworthy. 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  •  433 

In  1895  ]\Ir.  Henderson  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  Oakey,  a  native  of 
southwestern  Llissouri  and  a  daughter  of  N.  W.  and  Elizabeth  Oakey,  Ijoth  of 
whom  are  now  deceased.  In  his  fraternal  relations  ]\Ir.  Henderson  is  connected 
with  Paxton  Lodge,  No.  416,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Ford  Chapter,  No.  113,  R.  A.  M. ; 
and  Mount  Olivet  Commandery,  No.  38,  K.  T.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  several  other  fraternal  organizations.  He  is 
a  charter  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  Paxton  and  is  connected 
with  the  Woodmen  and  the  Red  Men.  His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  ]\Ir.  Henderson  takes  an  active  interest  in  polities,  being  a  life- 
long republican  and  yet  he  has  never  been  an  office  seeker  but  gives  stalwart 
support  to  many  measures  for  the  benefit  of  his  party  and  for  the  community 
at  large.  He  is  always  found  in  the  forefront  among  those  who  advocate 
progressive  public  measures  and  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the  community  have  been 
far-reaching  and  beneficial. 


JOHN  KEEFE. 


The  agricultural  interests  of  Ford  county  are  well  represented  by  John 
Keefe,  who  oa\tis  and  operates  a  well  improved  property,  comprising  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  situated  on  section  2,  Pella  township.  It  is  also  the  place  of  his 
birth,  his  natal  day  being  July  31,  and  the  year  1879.  His  parents  were  John 
and  Katherine  Keefe,  the  former  a  native  of  Ireland,  while  the  latter  was  born 
in  Troy,  New  York.  The  father  settled  in  Illinois  in  an  early  day,  first  locating 
in  La  Salle  county,  where  for  three  or  four  years  he  was  employed  at  work  on 
the  canal.  He  then  took  up  his  abode  in  Livingston  county,  this  state,  where  he 
made  his  home  for  a  few  years,  and  in  1869  removed  to  Ford  county,  locating  on 
the  farm  which  is  now  owned  by  our  subject.  He  here  made  his  home  until  his 
demise,  which  occurred  in  1906,  while  his  wife  passed  away  about  a  year  previous, 
in  1905.  Their  family  numbered  eight  children,  of  whom  seven  are  now  living, 
namely:  Mary  L.,  a  resident  of  Piper  City,  Illinois;  William,  who  makes  hif, 
home  in  Iowa;  Joseph,  Frank  and  Helen,  all  of  Piper  City;  John,  whose  name 
introduces  this  record;  and  Katherine,  also  of  Piper  City. 

John  Keefe  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  remaining  with  his  father 
until  he  attained  his  majority,  while  during  the  period  of  his  boyhood  and 
youth  he  attended  the  district  schools  during  the  winter  months,  and  later 
attended  Bourbonnais  College,  at  Bourbounais,  Illinois.       Upon  embarking  in 


434  •  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

business  for  himself  he  chose  as  his  occupation  the  work  to  which  he  had  been 
reared  and  operated  rented  land  for  six  years.  lie  then  bought  the  homestead 
property,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  2,  Pella  townshi]i, 
which  is  still  his  home.  He  has  here  a  well  improved  tract  of  land,  whereon  he 
raises  the  various  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate,  each  year  gathering 
good  crops  as  a  reward  for  the  care  and  labor  he  has  bestowed  upon  the  fields. 

Mr.  Keefe  was  married  in  June,  1905,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss 
Ernestine  Wallrichs,  who  was  born  in  Livingston  county,  a  daughter  of  William 
A.  and  Sophia  (Dannaman)  Wallrichs,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  on  another 
page  of  this  work.  The  marriage  of  ]\Ir.  and  INIrs.  Keefe  has  been  blessed  with 
one  child,  Raymond  Wayne,  born  February  25,  1907. 

Mr.  Keefe  gives  his  political  support  to  the  republican  party  and  for  two 
years  served  as  constable,  discharging  the  duties  of  the  office  with  the  same 
promptness  and  fidelity  that  he  brings  to  bear  in  his  private  business  affairs. 
He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Catholic  church  at  Piper  City.  Having  spent  his 
entire  life  in  Ford  county,  he  is  well  known  and  the  success  which  he  is  now 
enjoying  is  well  merited  for  it  has  come  to  him  only  through  honest,  persistent 
effort  and  honorable  business  methods. 


H.    S.    CARPENTER. 

II.  S.  Carpenter  owns  and  cultivates  an  excellent  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  aci'cs  on  section  8,  Brenton  township.  The  place  is  w^ell  improved,  is  neat 
and  thrifty  in  appearance  and  returns  good  crops  to  the  owner  as  a  reward  for 
the  care  and  labor  which  he  bestows  upon  the  fields.  Mr.  Carpenter  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Norway,  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  October  23,  1844,  his  parents 
being  William  and  Anne  E.  (Randall)  Carpenter.  The  father's  birth  occurred 
in  liopkinton,  Rhode  Island,  February  22,  1811,  and  he  traced  his  ancestry  back 
to  one  of  six  brothers  wlio  came  to  this  country  from  England  at  an  early  day. 

William  Carpenter  removed  to  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  during  the 
pioneer  epoch  in  its  development  and  there  remained  until  after  the  birth  of  all 
of  his  children,  when  in  March,  1867,  he  joined  the  westward  movement  and 
made  his  way  to  Illinois,  purchasing  what  became  known  as  the  old  homestead 
farm.  His  first  wife  died  on  the  15th  of  April,  1874,  after  which  he  was  again 
married  and  continued  farming  for  a  number  of  years  but  spent  his  last  days  in 
honorable  retirement  in  the  home  of  his  son,  II.  S.  Carpenter,  there  passing 


HISTORY   OF  FORD   COUNTY  435 

away  on  the  21st  of  January,  1892,  at  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-one  years. 
While  in  the  Empire  state  he  served  as  supervisor  and  also  as  justice  of  the  peace 
while  suliseqnent  to  his  removal  to  Illinois  he  filled  the  ofifice  of  magistrate  for 
twelve  years.  No  pnl)lic  trust  reposed  in  him  was  ever  betrayed  in  the  slightest 
degree.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  ever  loyal  to  the  pnl)lic  welfare  and  his 
labors  were  an  element  in  promoting  the  progress  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lived.  Ilis  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  whig  party  until  its  dissolution. 
In  1860  he  cast  his  ballot  for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  was  afterward  a  stanch 
republican  until  his  death.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  interested  members  of 
the  Methodist  church  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  church,  largely 
promoting  its  upbuilding  and  extending  its  influence  through  their  efforts. 
Their  lives,  so  upright  and  honorable  on  all  occasions,  cause  their  memory  to  be 
cherished  while  their  example  is  one  worthy  of  emulation.  Their  family 
numbered  six  children,  of  whom  three  are  still  living:  Charles  P.,  who  is  in 
California ;  H.  S.,  of  this  review;  and  Harriet  F.,  the  wife  of  Samuel  Pope,  living 
in  Steele  county,  North  Dakota.  Three  of  the  number  are  now  deceased  and 
the  family  has  the  unusual  record  of  three  sisters  marrying  three  brothers  of 
the"'Pope  family. 

H.  S.  Carpenter  remained  with  his  father  until  he  had  attained  adult  age. 
His  education  was  accpiired  in  the  schools  of  the  Empire  state  and  when  not 
busy  with  his  text-books  he  worked  in  the  fields,  becoming  familiar  with  the 
best  methods  of  tilling  the  soil  and  caring  for  the  crops.  On  starting  out  in  life 
on  his  own  account  he  chose  the  occupation  to  which  he  had  been  reared  as  his 
vocation  and  for  fourteen  years  rented  land  from  his  father,  bringing  the  farm 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  securing  a  good  income  as  the  result  of 
his  diligence.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  bought  the  farm  where  he 
now  lives,  comprising  eighty  acres,  to  which  he  afterward  added  an  additional 
tract  of  eighty  acres,  so  that  he  now  has  a  quarter  section  in  Brenton  township. 
He  was  formerly  largely  engaged  in  handling  stock,  buying,  feeding  and  shipping 
cattle  until  recent  date.  He  now  carries  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  and 
the  splendid  appearance  of  his  farm  is  indicative  of  his  practical  and  progressive 
ideas  concerning  modern  agricultural  methods.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Piper  City  Fair  and  Driving  Association  and  formerly  served  as  its 
secretary.  He  has  also  been  secretary  of  the  Brenton  &  Pella  Farmers  IMiitual 
Insurance  Company  since  it  was  organized. 

On  the  16th  of  December,  1869,  in  Piper  Cit}^  Mr.  Carpenter  was  married 
to  Miss  Mary  A.  Carpenter,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Carpenter,  one  of  the  oldest 
residents  of  the  village.       Her  mother  is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of 


436  HISTORY  OF  FORD   COUNTY 

eighty-five  years  and  makes  her  home  with  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  H.  S.  Carpenter.  She 
is  still  very  active,  possessing  remarkable  health  and  strength  for  one  of  her  years. 
The  marriage  of  onr  subject  and  his  wife  has  been  blessed  with  live  children : 
Winnefred  A.,  who  for  several  years  engaged  in  teaching  music  and  is  now  at 
home  with  her  parents;  Dora  M.,  the  wife  of  E.  E.  Bishop,  who  is  living  in 
Brenton  township ;  Hulda,  the  wife  of  R.  R.  Meents ;  Georgie  V.,  who  is  a  school 
teacher  and  lives  at  home ;  and  Josephine  M.,  yet  with  her  parents.  The 
children  have  all  been  jirovided  with  good  educational  privileges.  ]\Irs.  Bishop 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Onarga  Seminary  and  for  several  years  was  engaged  in 
teaching  school  and  the  youngest  daughter  is  likewise  a  graduate  of  Onarga 
Seminary. 

The  republican  party  receives  from  INIr.  Carpenter  a  stalwart  support.  He 
cast  his  first  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  has  upheld  the  party  platform  since 
that  time.  He  is  now  township  clerk  and  has  held  the  office  for  twenty  years, 
a  fact  which  is  indicative  of  his  faithfulness  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  him 
by  his  fellow  townsmen,  who  feel  that  they  could  secure  no  better  incumbent  for 
the  office.  He  has  also  been  school  director  for  twenty-two  years.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Piper  City,  having  filled  all  of  its 
chairs  and  is  one  of  its  exemplary  representatives.  He  has  likewise  been  a 
member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  society  for  ten  years.  He  takes  an  active  and 
helpful  interest  in  all  public  matters,  especially  those  calculated  to  prove  a 
benefit  to  his  community  and  his  cooperation  can  be  counted  upon  to  further  any 
movement  for  the  public  good.  During  his  entire  residence  in  this  county  his 
record  has  been  such  as  to  win  for  him  the  esteem  and  regard  of  those  with  whom 
he  has  come  in  contact,  while  in  business  circles  he  has  made  an  enviable  record 
for  commercial  integrity. 


I 


L 


J 


I 


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HECKMAN 

BINDERY  INC. 

JULY  95 

I  W-To-Piea^N.  MANCHESTER, 


